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The Seven (7) Billion People's Hub
Super stunning actress/Designer, Daniella Okeke is on our tongues again as she shares these incredibly hot new photos of herself.
She's seen here in this stunning shoot by Salaam jamiu. The actress styled by herself.
How cool does she look?
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Boss of the Made Men Music Group, Ubi Franklin and his gorgeous fiancee actress, Lilian Esoro are holding their wine carrying ceremony today 30th of October, 2015.
While the family of Esoro are officially giving out their daughter today, the wedding of the beautiful couple will be coming up tomorrow, 31st of October, 2015.
See more photos below:
You know how they say no matter how far you run away from the truth, it'll always come back to you? Yeah well, that seems to be the case of a quite powerful property tycoon in China who has confessed that he robbed a bank 16 years ago and used the money to start up his "empire" which is now worth billions.
Peoples Daily Online reports that, Shi, the 53-year-old was arrested last week in the central China's Zhumadian city for a crime he committed in December 1999.
At the time five armed suspects broke into a bank in the city of Zhengzhou, injuring two clerks and walking away with 2.8 million yuan (£290,000) in cash.
On the morning of October 21, more than 80 undercover police investigators rushed to the Zhumadian, Henan province, and arrested five suspects including billionaire Shi.
Shi is said to be well known in Zhumadian for being an extremely powerful and successful property tycoon.
He runs a number of businesses including industrial real estates, development and trade companies, and leisure farms. All earning him a fortune.
As well as property, he has billions invested in local businesses and often hosts regular charity events. All of this has influenced the community he lives in.
After he was arrested, Shi admitted to breaking into the bank armed with four suspects and stealing the money 16 years ago.
Shi told police, before the robbery in the early 1990's he was not satisfied with his income as a construction worker. So he gathered a group of guys who were working as painters for a 'secret job.'
16 years later the Zhengzhou City Public Security Bureau held a press conference to confirm the mystery of the 1999 bank robbery had successfully been solved.
A vital piece of evidence in the investigation was a hammer that was used to brake the bullet proof glass during the raid.
The police managed to track down its manufacturer which led them to a market in Zhengzhou where they were sold. 24 had been bought in the time leading up to the robbery.
Investigators tracked down the whereabouts of 16 hammers which left eight unaccounted for, which eventually led them to the five suspects.
The authorities in Zhengzhou said Shi – a construction project contractor who regularly hosted charity events – claimed most of the money from the robbery and used it to develop his real estate in the southern Chinese city of Zhumadian, earning him billions.
The first drug that targets precise genetic mutations in prostate cancer has been shown to be effective in a "milestone" trial by UK scientists.
The study, at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, took place on 49 men with untreatable cancer.
The drug, olaparib, had low overall success, but slowed tumour growth in 88% of patients with specific DNA mutations.
Cancer Research UK said the trial was exciting.
The future of cancer medicine is treating cancers by their mutated DNA rather than what part of the body they are in.
The breast cancer drug Herceptin is already used only in patients with specific mutations. Olaparib targets mutations that change the way DNA is repaired.
Image copyright Thinkstock
The trial results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed the drug worked in 14 out of 16 men with such mutations.
Levels of Prostate Specific Antigen, which is produced by tumours, was more than halved and there were also significant falls in the number of prostate cancer cells detected in the blood and in the size of secondary tumours.
Patients responded to the drug for between six months and nearly a year and a half.
One of the researchers, Dr Joaquin Mateo, told the BBC News website: "It is very promising.
"Those entering the trial had an expected survival of 10 to 12 months and we have many patients on the drug for longer than a year."
Prostate cancer is the fifth most deadly type of cancer in men.
However, a larger clinical trial is needed before doctors can say if the drug extends life expectancy.
Dr Mateo added: "This is the first drug that targets specific genetically defined populations and we are going to see more and more of these coming in the next few years."
The advantage of targeted drugs is they can be given only to those patients who will respond, which both saves money and spares patients unnecessary side effects.
Some of the patients in the study were born with mutated DNA repair genes while in others the mutation developed inside the tumour.
Professor Johann de Bono, the head of drug development at the Institute of Cancer Research said: "Our trial marks a significant step forward in the treatment of prostate cancer.
"I hope it won't be long before we are using olaparib in the clinic to treat prostate cancer."
However, the drugs watchdog in England – the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – has already rejected olaparib for ovarian cancer on grounds – at £4,000 a month – of cost.
Cancer Research UK's Dr Aine McCarthy added: "This trial is exciting because it could offer a new way to treat prostate cancer by targeting genetic mistakes in cancers that have spread.
"The hope is that this approach could help save many more lives in the future."
American University of Nigeria (AUN) located in Yola, a northern city in Nigeria have released a statement to debunk rumors Wizkid refused to honor an agreement with the university because of its location.
In a statement released by the Sesugh Annger, the Assistant Director, Office of Student Activities and Involvement of the University, a dialogue ensured between them and Wizkid but there was no agreement because of what they describe as "scheduling conflict".
The statement in full below
We would like to clear the air on the issue about Wizkid performing at AUN. We have been in negotiations with his management about him performing at our annual Homecoming concert. However due to a scheduling conflict he will not be able to make it at that time. We want to make it clear that contrary to what has been going round on the Internet this event has not happened yet, neither have we paid any money to Wizkid or his representatives. Any information saying he reneged on our agreement is wrong as we are still in the process of selecting an alternative date.
Many students were disappointed he could not make Homecoming and one person in expressing their disappointment made statements, which were picked up by social media sites, that are inaccurate and do not reflect our position on this issue. AUN does not have any quarrel with Wiz Kid and we look forward to welcoming him on our campus at a future date.
Diego Simeone says Atletico Madrid struggled after their 2014 La Liga success but feels his new-look side is now "ready to go again."
Atletico became the first side since Valencia in 2003-04 to break Barcelona and Real Madrid's duopoly on the Spanish league title when a side heavily reliant on the goals of Diego Costa topped the table in 2013-14.
Simeone saw Costa, Thibaut Courtois, Filipe Luis and David Villa depart after their 2014 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid, and Atletico then finished 16 points behind Barca in La Liga in 2014-15 and exited both the Champions League and Copa del Rey at the quarterfinal stage.
Despite selling Arda Turan and Mario Mandzukic this summer and enduring a slow start to the season, Atletico are showing signs of a revival as they approach Friday's game at Deportivo La Coruna on a run of three successive wins in all competitions.
"It was very difficult for us the year after winning the championship, very tough," Simeone told a news conference on Thursday. "It was a hard season but we coped well and showed a good level."
Diego Simeone says Atletico Madrid struggled after their 2014 La Liga success but feels his new-look side is now "ready to go again."
Atletico became the first side since Valencia in 2003-04 to break Barcelona and Real Madrid's duopoly on the Spanish league title when a side heavily reliant on the goals of Diego Costa topped the table in 2013-14.
Simeone saw Costa, Thibaut Courtois, Filipe Luis and David Villa depart after their 2014 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid, and Atletico then finished 16 points behind Barca in La Liga in 2014-15 and exited both the Champions League and Copa del Rey at the quarterfinal stage.
Despite selling Arda Turan and Mario Mandzukic this summer and enduring a slow start to the season, Atletico are showing signs of a revival as they approach Friday's game at Deportivo La Coruna on a run of three successive wins in all competitions.
"It was very difficult for us the year after winning the championship, very tough," Simeone told a news conference on Thursday. "It was a hard season but we coped well and showed a good level."
"Now we have a new 'litter' of young players who have good qualities, but this doesn't mean anything. We know that each game you start again and at Atletico you are valued by what you are going to do and not what you did.
"We are ready to go again and we have an important responsibility in the league for what we have achieved."
Angel Correa and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco are among the players making an impact for Atletico, who are currently third in La Liga, two points behind Barca and Real.
"Now we have a new 'litter' of young players who have good qualities, but this doesn't mean anything. We know that each game you start again and at Atletico you are valued by what you are going to do and not what you did.
"We are ready to go again and we have an important responsibility in the league for what we have achieved."
Angel Correa and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco are among the players making an impact for Atletico, who are currently third in La Liga, two points behind Barca and Real.
Davido, Asa, Toolz and others, attended Cameroonian footballer Samuel Eto'o's fund raising campaign, 'The Yellow Whistle Blower FC'.
The aim of the campaign is to create awarenesss and cater to Nigerians and Cameroonians displaced by infamous terrorist sect, Boko Haram.
In a soul searching speech the professional footballer invited people of good will to participate in his initiative for humanitarian purposes.
He also reminded the world not to forget the thousands of Nigerians who have been forced to flee their homes by the sect.
The event which held last night at Claridge Hotel in London, saw Samuel Eto'o and his wife Georgette, hobnob with influential personalities from Africa and the rest of the world.
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Nollywood actress Annie Idibia's manager Naomi has confirmed reports that Made Men Music Group (MMMG) Chairman and Oasis Medspa boss, Freda Francis are romantically involved.
The publicist who shared a photo of Iyanya and Annie who are both scorpios and will be turning a year older on October 31st and November 13th respectively, roped in Freda and indirectly asked her not to be jealous on Instagram.
She captioned: "On a lighter note*. It's #ScorpioSeason 💃💃💃.. All hail the #ScorpioKing&Queen #31StOctober @iyanya and #13November @annieidibia1 Counting down*. Bhet @fredafrancis why u wan shoot person na? We know say na u get*.
Naomi is also a close friend to Freda, so who else can confirm the relationship if not her?
Caitlyn Jenner, Reese Witherspoon, Misty Copeland and five women touched by the South Carolina church massacre and lauded in the aftermath as "The Peacemakers of Charleston" are among this year's honorees as Glamour magazine's Women of the Year.
Victoria Beckham, billionaire entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, Planned Parenthoood's Cecile Richards and the women's FIFA soccer Team USA round out the Class of 2015, announced Thursday. They will be honored at a gala on Nov. 9 at Carnegie Hall.
Witherspoon was selected for the magazine's December cover, to hit newsstands Nov. 10, while Jenner, Copeland and Holmes will be pictured on foldout covers.
This year is the 25th anniversary of the awards celebrating the achievements of diverse women in entertainment, fashion, politics and business. Amy Schumer will open the ceremony that draws a star-studded crowd each year. Former honorees Madeleine Albright, Serena Williams and Billie Jean King will be among the guests to help mark the awards' quarter-century. Jennifer Hudson and Ellie Goulding will perform.
The honorees announcement came just a few days after word of Jenner's inclusion leaked, prompting a backlash on social media with criticism of her inclusion as a transgender woman of wealth and privilege. Some apparently thought Jenner was THE woman of the year, as opposed to one of many.
"Where there is hateful chatter on Twitter, there is just as much, if not more, love and support. We prefer to focus on the positive," Jenner said through a spokesman ahead of the announcement.
Cindi Leive, Glamour's editor-in-chief, said in an interview that criticism of Jenner's inclusion "certainly gives you an appreciation for the hostility to the trans community that still exists out there." The awards, she said, are intended to honor diversity among women leaders and trailblazers who are as "diverse as the population of women in this world."
"We're proud of that and we're proud of what Caitlyn Jenner has done to illuminate what so many in the trans community go through," Leive added.
Actress Laverne Cox, also a trans woman, was among last year's honorees.
To mark the 25th anniversary, the Empire State Building will be lit in Glamour's signature pink the night of the awards, and Mayor Bill de Blasio will proclaim Nov. 9 the Women of the Year Day, the magazine said.
Among the honorees' achievements as noted in the Glamour spread:
— Witherspoon: She co-founded a production company, Pacific Standard, and started buying up books and scripts featuring female protagonists as a way to fight the gender gap in Hollywood. By 2015, the company's "Wild" and "Gone Girl" earned Oscar nominations for Witherspoon, Laura Dern and Rosamund Pike.
— Copeland: She became the first female African-American principal at the American Ballet Theatre in June. It had been a long struggle. She began dancing relatively late in childhood and had gotten used to being the only woman of color in the room. Then late-onset puberty brought on curves and a more muscular build that took her physique beyond the tiny ballet ideal. She fought back from injuries and prevailed.
— Jenner: After years of hiding her true self, the Olympic hero and Kardashian-Jenner family reality TV parent has faced her share of critics since coming out as a trans woman earlier this year, including some within the trans community who felt her wealth and privilege made her an outsider in their world, too. Jenner, who turned 66 on Wednesday, vowed to educate herself while educating others through her docuseries, "I Am Cait," which was just picked up by E! for a second season.
— Charleston Strong: The June shooting at the black Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, brought on mass protests over racial injustice. For these Glamour's honorees, it was personal. Alana Simmons, Nadine Collier, Bethane Middleton-Brown, Felicia Sanders and Polly Sheppard lost loved ones and two nearly their own lives, but all, one by one, stood up in a courtroom at the bond hearing for the young, white defendant and declared their anger but not their hate.
— Beckham: She came to the fashion world as a Spice Girl celebrity but rolled up her sleeves to make her own way as a designer as she balanced life as the wife of David Beckham and mother of their four children, some of whom have followed her into the industry. She has also helped raise several million dollars for AIDS research.
— Team USA: Early on, the U.S. national team had been written off as having no chance of taking the FIFA Women's World Cup. They dominated and became vocal advocates for women in soccer.
— Holmes: She founded her fledgling blood-testing company, now called Theranos, in her dorm room after dropping out of Stanford as an undergraduate but convincing an engineering professor to admit her into his graduate research lab. Her mission: to democratize access to potentially lifesaving lab testing by making it painless, accessible and affordable.
— Richards: The president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the daughter of a civil rights lawyer-dad and a politician woman, the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards. She has been an organizer since her days at Brown, where she missed graduation to protest South African apartheid. She admits she almost didn't go to her interview at Planned Parenthood, fearing she wouldn't measure up. Today, she is responsible for more than 10,000 employees at 700 Planned Parenthood centers across the country.
Singer Yemi Alade has revealed she will be dropping her second studio album in March 2016..
According to the singer of 'Johnny' fame, her sophomore album will be titled "Mama Africa".
This announcement is coming exactly a year after she dropped her debut album "King of Queens" in October 2014.
Speaking about the album, she said: "My sophomore studio album will hit stores physically and digitally come March of 2016. It is titled 'Mama Africa', and it focuses on the joys and pains, the highs and lows, the strengths and weaknesses of an African woman. In short, it is the diary of an African Woman."
China announced the end of its hugely controversial one-child policy on Thursday, with the official Xinhua news agency saying that all couples would be allowed two children.
It cited a communique issued by the ruling Communist Party after a four-day meeting in Beijing to chart the course of the world's second-largest economy over the next five years.
China is "abandoning its decades-long one-child policy", Xinhua reported.
The policy restricted most couples to only a single offspring, and for years authorities argued that it was a key contributor to China's economic boom.
But after years of strict, sometimes brutal enforcement by a dedicated government commission, China's population — the world's largest — is now ageing rapidly, gender imbalances are severe, and its workforce is shrinking.
The concerns led to limited reforms in 2013, including allowing a second child for some couples in urban areas, but relatively few have taken up the opportunity.
The Communist leadership met in Beijing to discuss ways to put the country's stuttering economy back on a smooth growth path as it struggles with structural inefficiencies and social policies left over from an era before it embraced market reforms.
Known as the fifth plenum, the conclave discussed the next Five-Year Plan for China — the 13th since the People's Republic was founded in 1949.
Over four days of meetings the 205 members of the Central Committee, plus around 170 alternates, examined the specifics of the plan, which was largely worked out through a process of national consultations before the leaders even set foot in the capital.
The country's rubber-stamp legislature will officially approve the resulting document next year.
The world's most populous country has enjoyed a decades-long boom since the ruling party embraced market economics and opened up to the rest of the world from the late 1970s.
The process has transformed the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people and propelled the country to global prominence.
But growth has been slowing for several years, and analysts say the party needs to embrace further liberalisation to avoid falling into the stagnation of the "middle income trap", when developing countries fail to fulfil their full potential.
The meeting reiterated the Communist Party's goal to double 2010 GDP by 2020, as part of its aim to achieve a "moderately prosperous society" by the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party's founding.
Google's Project Loon has a round-the-world coverage plans for 2016.
Its vice president, Mike Cassidy, told the BBC that the team is hoping to launch 300-plus balloons next year to "make a continuous string around the world."
The idea is to make sure that there's always at least one balloon covering a particular area — when one drifts away, another immediately takes its place. If the team successfully deploys its first continuous string, which will cover the Southern Hemisphere, it plans to start taking its first beta commercial customers. While this particular goal depends on whether things go well for the team in the near future, Project Loon's partnership with Indonesian providers is already a done deal.
The team has joined forces with local providers Indosat, Telkomsel and XL Axiata, giving them the power to transmit their signals to even far-off islands by bouncing them from one balloon to the next. According to the Google+ announcement, only one in three Indonesians have access to the internet, but the initiative's presence in the country could change that. Project Loon launched a similar test run in Sri Lanka this year, which will continue until March 2016.
It's with noting that the initiative's balloons are now much better than the ones introduced in 2013. Devices that connect to them can enjoy almost up to 10Mbps, 4G-like speeds. The balloons themselves are easier to set up, taking only 15 minutes with a couple of people and a crane; they used to take an hour or two to prepare, and that's with over a dozen workers. In addition, each balloon can now last for months instead of days.
Mariah Carey supported her billionaire boyfriend, James Packer, at the grand opening of his new Studio City resort in Macau, China, on Tuesday.
The 45-year-old singer joined her 48-year-old bea to celebrate the launch of the $3.2 billion Hollywood-themed casino resort together.
This is coming less than a month they made their relationship public at the red carpet of The Intern premiere in New York City.
The mother-of-two rocked a plunging black gown to color coordinate with her Australian businessman's formal tuxedo.
Hollywood giants, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio also gathered at the 1600-room complex to premiere the 15-minute short film The Audition.
Mariah gave a glamorous performance of her hit song "Hero" in commemoration of the opening ceremony
His 'Money Team' shared a photo of the exhibitionist carrying stacks of wrapped $100 dollar bills with each bundle containing $100,000 and all totaling $1 million, as he was walked majestically into 'King Of Diamonds' strip club in Miami.
The photo has since caused a frenzy, with fans swarming in the comment section of his Instagram.
Check Out the Instagram Photo Below ::
The three victims managed to run through a Target Store connected to the mall after the shooting and they were taken to nearby hospitals, Indianapolis Police Sergeant Kendale Adams said.
"None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening," Adams said by telephone.
The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation, he said.
Indianapolis police responded to the mall at about 6:30 p.m. on reports of multiple people shot, the Indianapolis Star newspaper reported.
(Reporting by Susan Guyett in Indianapolis, Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Sandra Maler)
A month after Snapchat debuted its new Lenses feature, the company is expanding its video feature set with what it calls "Speed Modifiers," allowing users to add slow-motion, rewind, and fast-forward filters to their videos. Rather than puke rainbows, users will now be adding something closer to special effects to their Snaps.
The new Speed Modifiers are fairly self-explanatory: Slow-Motion slows video down; Fast-Forward speeds things up; Rewind plays content backwards. It's really a matter of how the new features will be used in Snaps and Stories going forward. One might imagine enterprising Snapchat talents using the new features to accentuate their videos for extra impact, using Slow-Motion for cute animal videos and Rewind for double-takes.
It's up to users to make the best of the new features
The new update also happens to add 3D Touch features for users on iPhone 6S and 6S Pluses, allowing them to quickly chat with contacts or add friends.
Snapchat is iterating on its platform fiercely, with new updates and functionality coming out as ways to attract new, paying users and advertisers. Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that company was looking into Sponsored Lenses. Meanwhile, the ability to pay for replays was announced alongside the Lens feature.
Suspended UEFA president Michel Platini insists he is still the right man to lead FIFA as the seven candidates to replace Sepp Blatter in February's elections were confirmed.
Platini is suspended for 90 days as FIFA's Ethics Committee investigate a payment he received from the embattled governing body in 2011.
Despite that, the Frenchman remains one of the seven candidates standing in the presidential election on 26 February next year and the 60-year-old believes he is still right for the role.
"I am, in all humility, the most able to run world football," he told The Telegraph.
Platini also explained the payment that is being investigated, saying the $2.83 million was for work he did for FIFA president Blatter – albeit coming nine years after it was undertaken.
"The two million [Swiss Francs] represents the equivalent of four years' salary arrears that FIFA owed me when I was the president's special adviser," he said.
"The president himself offered me a contract and a salary that I accepted.
"So to be clear: was there work provided? Yes. Is an oral contract legal in Switzerland? Yes. Did I have the right to reclaim my money even nine years later? Yes. Did I produce a proper invoice as FIFA required? Yes. Was the money declared to the taxman? Yes.
"FIFA had the right, after five years, not to pay me, but they decided to respect what was a perfectly valid arrangement."
The candidates to replace Blatter as president of FIFA iwere confirmed on Wednesday – here, we look at the men vying for the top job in world football.
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein
Prince Ali has been FIFA vice-president for Asia for the past four years, and ran against Blatter during last May's elections.
Having taken the ballot to a second round of voting, Prince Ali withdrew his candidacy which handed victory to Blatter – although the Swiss resigned four days later.
Prince Ali is the current president of the Jordan Football Association, and has vowed to lead the reforms within FIFA and restore the governing body's reputation.
Musa Bility
Bility – the current president of the Liberian Football Association – submitted his candidacy to run in February's elections on Monday having received the backing of five member associations.
The 48-year-old is only the second African to formally stand for the presidency after Issa Hayatou – the acting FIFA president in Blatter's absence.
During his tenure with the Liberian FA, Bility – who is keen to give Africa a stronger voice within FIFA – was banned from all football activity by the Confederation of African Football due to him violating the use of confidential documents, a ban that ended in 2013.
Jerome Champagne
A former advisor to Blatter, Champagne planned to run in the 2015 elections but failed to achieve the backing of five associations and was forced to withdraw.
During his 11 years with FIFA, Champagne also held the role of director of international relations, before leaving the governing body in 2010.
Champagne has been a staunch critic of Blatter in the past, and has pledged to introduce 'the highest standard of transparency and ethics' if elected.
Gianni Infantino
The current UEFA secretary general was put forward by Europe's governing body as an alternative option to Platini, the 45-year-old receiving the unanimous backing of UEFA's Executive Committee.
Infantino, who has worked at UEFA for six years, confirmed his bid to replace Blatter on Monday – the deadline for submission of FIFA candidates.
Michel Platini
Current UEFA president and FIFA vice-president, Platini is currently serving a 90-day suspension for his involvement in an alleged 'disloyal payment' from Blatter.
Platini – a European championship winner with France in 1984 and European Cup winner with Juventus in 1985 – was named European footballer of the year three times in a row and had hoped to use his reputation as a player to lead the reforms within FIFA.
A former aide to the outgoing president, Platini has since fallen out with his old mentor and was favourite to replace Blatter until his recent suspension by the FIFA Ethics Committee.
Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa
The president of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman has promised to self-fund his election bid entirely and says he will not take a salary should he be appointed FIFA president.
The 49-year-old, who is cousin to the King of Bahrain, has been accused by human rights groups in the country of helping to identify footballers and athletes involved in democracy protests in 2011, in which several people were killed by security forces and others were arrested and allegedly tortured.
Sheikh Salman, however, has branded the accusations 'false, nasty lies that have been repeated again and again in the past and the present'.
Fellow candidate Prince Ali was a former supporter of the head of Bahrain football before his landslide election victory won him the AFC post in 2013.
Tokyo Sexwale
Full name Mosima Gabriel Sexwale, the 62-year-old is a former anti-apartheid activist who spent 13 years in prison alongside – among others – former South Africa president Nelson Mandela, on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the government.
Sexwale was key to South Africa hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup but went public with his concerns over an alleged payment of $10 million, which US prosecutors have claimed was used to win votes to hold the tournament. Sexwale himself has never faced any accusations over wrongdoing over the bid.
A millionaire mining tycoon, Tokyo – so called due to a love of karate as a youth – is a leading anti-racism campaigner and even became a media personality as the central figure on South Africa's version of reality TV series The Apprentice.
Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka has argued that his side's penalty victory over Manchester United on Wednesday night in the Capital One Cup was completely merited as they were the 'better' team.
Boro were on the wrong end of a 14-13 penalty shootout epic against Liverpool last season, but were able to seal their progress this time around after Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young all missed their spot-kicks for the hosts.
"I told my players after the game that we were better than them — we were more confident on the pitch, we were fitter than them," Karanka said.
"For that reason, I have to say how proud I am of my players. Penalties sometimes you lose — last season we lost against Liverpool after 30 penalties — and sometimes you can win like today.
"The main thing is the performance, and the performance today against Man United, a big team, it was amazing."
Karanka has guided Middlesbrough to fourth in the Championship table after 13 games, and says that his sights are firmly set on promotion to the Premier League.
"I am so proud of my players and our crowd should be. To beat Man United, Man City and go face to face with Liverpool and Arsenal is some achievement. Two years ago if we'd have thought we could have nights like this…
"My aim is to get the club to these kinds of stadiums every week."
The Chief Coach of Nigeria's U-23 national team, Samson Siasia, has raised the alarm over Nigeria Football Federation, NFF's insensitivity to the plight of his team as they prepare for the African U-23 Nations Cup which holds in Senegal next month.
The championship is the African qualifying tournament for the football event of Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Siasia, one time coach of the Super Eagles, said that from all indications, the management of the NFF has abandoned his team to their fate with no resources at their disposal to prepare very well for Senegal 2015
"Nobody from the football federation is concerned about our daily welfare in the camp. At times, we fuel vehicles to carry us to training. We have not been paid in the last three months, while we're being owed allowances.
"The players in camp have not been consistent with the training programme because they have to go back to their clubs to play in the league.
The players' morale is down as most of them have not been receiving salaries from their clubs. How can one expect good output from these set of players?" Siasia lamented on a Lagos-based radio early on Wednesday.
Siasia, who played 51 international matches for Nigeria, in which he scored 13 goals, and was part of the team that participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and won the 1994 African Nations Cup, disclosed that his efforts to draw the attention of the NFF to the plight of his team yielded no results as response from officials was that the football federation is cash-strapped.
"Unfortunately, NFF keeps telling us that there is no money without giving reasons for this. To me, Nigerians are liars. It has gotten to the situation that I won't just sit down quietly and die, I'm tired of the system.
"I want Nigerians to know at this juncture that I won't be responsible for any bad result that may come out of our campaign in the African U-23 Nations Cup. I should not be held responsible for whatever happens at the championship," said Siasia.
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to bring the desired change to turn around Nigerian football and by extension Nigerian sports as a whole.
