NIGERIA: TERRORISM: Boko Haram suicide bombers attack Muslim praying ground in Maiduguri, kill 25

25 people were reportedly killed while 17 others were seriously injured after a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber attacked a Muslim praying ground in Umurari village on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Borno state this morning. The dead bodies have been evacuated from the scene while those injured have been taken to the government hospital for treatment. Security officers are working to restore calm to the area.

SOURCE: http://www.lindaikejisblog.com

FOOTBALL: RUMOUR: South Africa paid a $10m bribe to host the World Cup in 2010

FIFA has launched a legal battle to claim more than £100 million from corrupt officials and admitted for the first time that South Africa paid bribes for votes for the 2010 World Cup. In a legal submission to US authorities, they have openly accused South Africa of paying a US$10 million bribe to secure votes for the 2010 World Cup. South Africa has however strongly denied any wrong doing.

FOOTBALL: Real Madrid going nowhere if we keep playing like this - Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was unhappy with his team's showing despite their dramatic 2-1 La Liga win over Las Palmas.

Madrid needed a late winner from Casemiro to emerge victorious after Willian Jose had cancelled out Sergio Ramos' opener in the 87th minute at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, before Ramos was sent off for a second booking.

And Zidane was not impressed with Madrid's performance and was adamant they will have to improve if they are to have a shot at winning the Champions League.

"The most important thing is that we got the full three points, but I am worried about our second-half performance," Zidane said at a news conference.

"I will watch the game back on Monday and analyse things. But I am very worried about the second half. I don't think the win was undeserved, though. We scored from two set-pieces, but that is part of the game.

"Of course, Las Palmas did very well and caused us problems. But what worries me is our own performance.

"We are not thinking about the Champions League. The players are focused on what they have to do. If we want to dream of winning something, we will have to do much better. That is crystal clear. We are going nowhere if we play like this. We cannot play like we did in the second half. I want to watch the game again, but there is no doubt that we cannot play like this."

SOURCE: GOAL.COM

FOOTBALL: Diego Costa charged with improper conduct after Barry incident

Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been charged with improper conduct for his behaviour after receiving a second yellow card during Saturday's FA Cup tie against Everton.
The Spain international was accused of attempting to bite Gareth Barry after being fouled during the 2-0 defeat.
Costa and Barry both later denied there being any bite but the Spaniard will nevertheless face further examination by the Football Association for his actions in addition to the ban he will receive for being sent off. 

"Diego Costa has been charged in relation to Chelsea’s FA Cup sixth round fixture against Everton on Saturday 12 March 2016," an FA statement reads. "It is alleged his behaviour, after being shown a second yellow card in the game, amounted to improper conduct.
"He has until 6pm (GMT) on Thursday 17 March 2016 to respond to the charge.

"Meanwhile, the Chelsea striker has until Wednesday [16 March 2016] to provide his observations to The FA in relation to an alleged gesture he made towards Everton supporters while leaving the pitch at half-time."

source:goal.com

FOOTBALL: The BIZARRE secret behind Leicester's fairytale title bid(VooDoo?)

The secret behind Leicester City's success this season may have finally been revealed, by a Thai monk!
Phra Prommangkalachan, a Buddhist monk, has been visiting Leicester regularly for the past three seasons, blessing the pitch and gifting players lucky charms. 
And he believes that his visits may have had some effect on the side's fortunes, with the club currently five points clear of second-placed Tottenham in the Premier League with eight games of the season remaining. 
"I hang some amulets on their necks and I gave them these fabric talismans," he told AFP. 
"I'm not sure if they understood what I explained to them about it, but they knew that it would bring them luck.
 The club's owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, is said to be a devout buddhist, and Phra has little doubt that he will soon see the Premier League trophy lifted on the same King Power Stadium pitch that his helicopter regularly lands on. 

"He brought monks there to pray for auspiciousness and luck in the game, for the management team and the players," he added.

"The team will be the number one in the Premier League this year for sure."

FOOTBALL: Neymar: I want to play for Brazil at the Rio Olympics

"For me, to play once again at the Olympics would be a dream, a great honour to represent Brazil once again at the Games, especially as these will take place back home," the 24-year-old, who won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, told Goal.
"I'm very keen to be there, not only for the gold medal that Brazil misses, but for doing it in my country.
"It's hard to send a message to the Brazilian people and promise something. The only thing that I can assure them of is that I'll do my best to honour our shirt with all my strength, my football, so we can go as far as possible."
The Brazil international, who is widely considered one of the best players in the world, also opened up about his four-year-old son Davi Lucca da Silva Santos.

Neymar is keeping any hopes for his son to follow in his footsteps under wraps because he isn't as football-obsessed as his Champions League-winning father - in fact, he doesn't like the sport at all!
"I don't think my son understands that he has a famous father," he joked. "He knows I play football, but I don't think he captures the size, the dimension, of who his daddy is.

"Geez... I don't think my son was made for football! So far he doesn't like football, but let's see what happens! But I find it hard to believe... He's four now."
Neymar concluded the interview with a candid admission that Spain's parties don't match the ones in his homeland.

"What I miss from Brazil are my friends, family... And the parties!" he said, before breaking into uncontrollable laughter.

SOURCE: GOAL.COM

FOOTBALL: Dembele: Spurs players surprised by title charge!

Tottenham's Premier League title challenge has surprised the players at White Hart Lane as much as everyone else, midfielder Mousa Dembele has admitted.

Mauricio Pochettino's men currently sit second with eight games of the season remaining, five points behind shock leaders Leicester City.

Spurs have claimed 16 wins from their 30 matches in 2015-16, and have only lost on four occasions, leaving them six points ahead of north London rivals Arsenal, though the beleaguered Gunners have a game in hand.

"Yes, [we're] surprised," Dembele is quoted as saying by the London Evening Standard. "We believe in ourselves but we surprised everyone and of course we are very happy about this.

"The ambitions change during the year, of course

"We're up there, we play as a team and for us, this is what we deserve and we want to go further, of course."
Spurs face Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Europa League Round of 16 tie, which they trail 3-0, before returning to domestic action against Bournemouth on Sunday.

SOURCE: GOAL.COM

FOOTBALL: Rooney insists Man Utd can beat Liverpool in Europa League

Wayne Rooney insists Manchester United can progress to the Europa League quarter-finals at Liverpool's expense, despite losing the first leg of their round of 16 tie 2-0 at Anfield. 

A Daniel Sturridge penalty and a Roberto Firmino strike gave the Reds a comfortable win last week, leaving them in firm control of the tie ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford on Thursday. 

Rooney, though, believes that Louis van Gaal's men can turn the tie around in Manchester, though he will be forced to watch on from the sidelines having missed the previous eight games with a knee ligament injury.


"Liverpool is going to be tough but two goals is doable," he told the Daily Mirror. 

"We have good players and the first goal will be important. If we get that, then we will be back in the game."

NIGERIA: Another National Scam Uncovered (Worth N36.4 billion)

The Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation yesterday presented its 2014 annual report to the National Assembly detailing what it described as ‘massive fraud and financial irregularities in the NNPC and other government agencies’.‎

The Auditor-General, Samuel Ukara‎ said N36.4 billion which was meant for the construction of dams was released to the office of the National Security Adviser in 2014 as special funds.

Ukara‎ in his report alleged that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, did not remit N3.2trn into the Federation account in 2014. He added that $235,685,861, being the proceeds from the sale of gas sale accruable to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, was never paid to the federation account.

The report also claimed that about $1.6m out of the contract sum of $2.3m, meant to build a school by Nigeria in Haiti in 2010, had been paid without the project being executed up until now.

"As of the time of inspection, there was no evidence of a Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria and the Haitian Government for the construction of the school. More so, the location of the school was not affected by earthquake in 2010. Therefore, the purpose for which the money was given could not be achieved.”‎he said

Egyptian minister fired for comments he made about Prophet Mohammed

Egypt's justice minister, Ahmed el-Zind, has been fired by the prime minister for what many see as his overzealousness. In his bid to convince citizens of his commitment to fighting crime, he said he'll imprison the prophet Mohammed if he committed a crime.

According to cabinet spokesman, Hossam Qawish, the minister was "released from his position". El-Zind said in a television interview that he would put anyone who violates the law in prison, "even if he is the prophet, peace and blessing be upon him."

El-Zind quickly followed by saying "I ask God for forgiveness" for making the comment. But that did not prevent a backlash by faithful Muslims as well as criticism on social media.