Neymar steps out of Messi’s shadow to fuel treble talk

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Barcelona's Brazilian forward Neymar / AFP PHOTO / PEDRO ARMESTRE

For a victory “defined by faith” according to Barcelona boss Luis Enrique, the Catalans rose from the dead inspired by the man who never stopped believing.

“As long as there’s a one percent chance, we’ll have 99 percent faith,” said Neymar before a ball had been kicked in Barca’s stunning revival from a 4-0 first leg deficit to beat Paris Saint-Germain 6-1.

A few hours, two goals and a vital 95th minute assist for Sergi Roberto to cap the biggest comeback in the history of the Champions League later, Neymar hailed his display as the “best game” of his career.

“This is the best game I have ever played. For what it meant, for what we experienced,” said the 25-year-old.

Neymar hasn’t always had the easiest time since swapping Santos for Spain three-and-a-half years ago.

The murky series of contracts that sealed his transfer have seen Neymar, his father and Barcelona dragged through the courts on corruption and tax evasion charges.

Yet, it is for nights like Wednesday that Barca paid millions to recruit and then renew Neymar’s contract till 2021 in October.

Pre-match focus had framed the seemingly impossible comeback only realistic if Lionel Messi made it happen.

Instead, three times in a frantic final seven minutes, it was Neymar, not Messi, that took responsiblity and dragged Barca back from the brink into a record 10th consecutive quarter-final.

Firstly, he curled home a brilliant free-kick and then took over penalty duty, despite Messi having earlier converted from the spot, to leave Barca needing just one more.

Amid the bedlam of nearly 100,000 voices at the Camp Nou, Neymar then calmly cut inside with Barca’s last chance as the seconds ticked down to tease in the perfect cross on his weaker left foot for Sergi Roberto to apply the finishing touch.

– Ballon d’Or worthy –
“Not even in our wildest dreams could we dreamed the way it happened,” Neymar posted on Instagram alongside a celebratory photo of he and Messi.

“The impossible is just a matter of opinion.”

Messi and Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo have ruled the roost as the world’s two best players since 2008 – sharing nine straight Ballon d’Or wins.

However, Neymar’s display on the biggest stage left many in little doubt he is the heir to their crown in the future.

“A night worthy of the Ballon d’Or,” said Spanish sports daily Marca.

“With his speed, skill and powerful strike, PSG folded up against the best version of the Brazilian.”

Neymar is used to carrying the biggest burdens.

He took Brazil to the semi-finals of the World Cup on home soil in 2014 before his back was broken towards the end of a bruising quarter-final clash with Colombia.

Some measure of revenge for that blow was taken by scoring the winning penalty as the hosts claimed a first Olympic gold at the Rio Games in August.

Rather than be cowed, Neymar is inspired by the biggest moments when his side need him most.

And he could be the key with a suddenly revitalised Barcelona eyeing a second treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey in three seasons.

“We believed before and now even more (so),” added Neymar.

After partying into the early hours of Thursday morning with three-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, Barca and Neymar travel to Deportivo la Coruna on Sunday looking to avoid a hangover.

“It wouldn’t be a bad thing if Barca went out partying,” hopeful Deportivo boss Pepe Mel told radio station Onda Cero with his side sitting just five points above the relegation zone.

Fixtures (all times GMT)

Friday

Espanyol v Las Palmas (1945)

Saturday

Valencia v Sporting Gijon (1200), Sevilla v Leganes (1515), Malaga v Alaves (1730), Granada v Atletico Madrid (1945)

Sunday

Real Sociedad v Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo la Coruna v Barcelona (1515), Celta Vigo v Villarreal (1730), Real Madrid v Real Betis (1945)

Monday

Osasuna v Eibar (1945)

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Guardiola fights on after City gamble fails

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Manchester City's Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero (2nd L) reacts on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Stoke City at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on March 8, 2017. The game finished 0-0. / AFP PHOTO / Paul ELLIS /

Pep Guardiola has refused to concede the Premier League title to Chelsea despite a disappointing 0-0 home draw with Stoke City which left Antonio Conte’s league leaders with a 10-point lead at the top of the table.

The Manchester City manager gambled by resting key players John Stones, David Silva and Raheem Sterling ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough and next week’s Champions League last 16 second leg trip to Monaco.

The tactic backfired with City only looking like breaking down Stoke after Guardiola threw on Spanish international Silva as a substitute with just under an hour gone.

“I have said before, we take it game by game,” said Guardiola of the lead held by Chelsea. “The lead is 10 points and we now have one less game.

“We’re going to see what happens in the next game and then take it game by game. When a gap is like this, you have to focus like that; not on big targets.”

Guardiola insisted that he had no regrets over his gamble to rest key players and, with City looking impressive in the FA Cup and Champions League, there was logic behind his selection.

“The priority is the next game,” said Guardiola. “And we play for the next game.

“The rotations are good when you have successful results and they are not brilliant when you miss out.

“We only have two days now and we have another (FA Cup) game — and another one away because we have never played at home in the cup this season — and we have to use all the players.

“I would like to use more players — like Fabian Delph and others. And in the last game I didn’t play Kevin De Bruyne from the beginning so we have to use all the squad in this calendar with a lot of games.

“After another three or four days we travel to France for Monaco, then another three or four days we have Liverpool. When you have one game a week you can play only 11 players no problems. If not, you have to make a rotation and it makes it so difficult.”

Stoke’s former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes was pleased with his team’s response following their last away outing, a disastrous 4-0 defeat at Tottenham, but admitted he was surprised, and relieved, when he discovered Silva was not starting for the home side.

“You saw his influence when he came on,” said Hughes. “If I’m honest, I was pleased he wasn’t starting because he does give them an extra element to their play.

“His calmness in possession, his ability to see the correct pass at the right time is outstanding. He’s a world-class player so we weren’t too upset when he wasn’t in the starting line-up and were a bit more anxious when he came on.”

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No Rooney, no goals, United seek European salvation in Russia

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Manchester United's English striker Wayne Rooney. Oli SCARFF / AFP

With no Wayne Rooney and a squad looking for confidence, Manchester United head for the uneven Olimp-2 stadium surface to take on Rostov on Thursday and keep alive hopes of becoming one of the few teams to have won all three European cups.

United fans have been told not to wear their team’s red colours in the Russian city to avoid re-igniting hooligan violence and and Rostov coach Ivan Daniliants promised a “classy performance” against the illustrious English side.

United won the European Cup in 1968, the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991 and Champions League in 1999 and 2008. But they have never won the Europa League nor the old UEFA Cup.

If successful this year, United would join Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, who have already lifted all three European club trophies.

Having won their first trophy under Jose Mourinho with a 3-2 win over Southampton in the League Cup final, United need a strong performance in the first leg in Rostov to open the road to the quarter-finals.

That would take them into the draw with the winners from key ties such as Lyon v Roma, the all-German Schalke v Borussia Monchengladbach, Copenhagen v Ajax and Olympiakos v Besiktas.

Mourinho never lost in Russia with his previous clubs (Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid), but he is not happy going to Rostov, last season’s Russian league runners-up, to play on the bumpy pitch.

– Rostov warning –
“It’s a bad draw in every aspect. It’s far and it’s difficult,” Mourinho told Man United official site.

“It’s far and comes in a very bad period for us, difficult because they’re a very difficult team.”

United won their first trophy under Mourinho when they took the English League Cup final 3-2 against Southampton. But Mourinho admitted they were lucky and at the weekend saw his side held 1-1 by unfancied Bournemouth.

United are far from the Champions League qualifying places and Mourinho has expressed his disappointment at United’s low scoring rate.

“We need to score goals – other teams with less chances score goals,” Mourinho told his club’s official site.

“Against Southampton in the League Cup final, we had five chances and scored three but, against Bournemouth with more than 10 chances, we scored one goal.”

On Thursday the Reds will be without Eric Bailly, who was sent off in their round of 32 1-0 win at Saint-Etienne.

United midfielder Juan Mata said it would be “a long trip that is going to test the strength of the team in every sense. The Russian side is particularly strong at home: this season they have defeated Bayern Munich and Ajax, for instance. That gives you an idea of how tough they are.”

Mourinho left Rooney and leftback Luke Shaw at home along with Bastian Schweinsteiger. Armenian forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan returns to the 20-man squad after recovering from an injury incurred just after scoring the St Etienne winner.

Rostov sent a clear warning to the Red Devils when they routed Tomsk 6-0 on Friday.

Rostov showed no signs of rustiness in their first domestic match after the long winter break.

But head coach Daniliants said he and his men realised that Manchester United will be a completely different story.

“Man United are a top-class team and to oppose them is an honourable and a pleasant task,” he told the press.

“It demands full mobilisation and colossal responsibility. Hopefully, we will come into this match on top, both physically and mentally. The match is sold out and we’re set to give our fans a classy performance.”

Rostov will likely be at full-strength except for doubts over injured first-choice goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanayev.

Europa League last 16 fixtures

Celta Vigo (ESP) v Krasnodar (RUS)

Apoel Nicosia (CYP) v Anderlecht (BEL)

Schalke 04 (GER) v Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER)

Lyon (FRA) v Roma (ITA)

Rostov (RUS) v Manchester United (ENG)

Olympiakos (GRE) v Besiktas (TUR)

Gent (BEL) v Genk (BEL)

FC Copenhagen (DEN) v Ajax (NED)

1st leg, March 9; 2nd leg, March 16

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LUTH to provide free glaucoma screening to public

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The Guinness Eye Centre of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos State , would provide free glaucoma screening to the public between March 14 and March 15 from 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.

LUTH’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Kelechi Otuneme, who disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos in a statement, said the screening was to commemorate the World Glaucoma Week celebration.

He said that the weeklong celebration would hold from March 12 to March 18 at the Guinness Eye Centre.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the centre provided free screening to people with glaucoma challenges in 2015 and 2016 respectively thus making it an annual event.

“This programme is part of the hospital’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) and is geared toward helping to raise awareness about glaucoma which is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.

“The general public is hereby invited to take part in the exercise as an early detection is one of the preventive measures to prevent blindness from the disease, “he said.

NAN also reports tat glaucoma is a disease that damages the eyes’ optic nerves, which occurs when fluid builds up in the front part of the eyes.

The extra fluid increases the pressure in the eyes, damaging the optic nerves.

NAN also reports that glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness for people aged 60 years and above.

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Netanyahu offered unity govt as part of peace bid: report

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, on May 31, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / DAN BALILTY

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a plan to form a unity government with Israel’s opposition last year as part of a regional peace bid, but later backtracked, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The plan centred on a document delivered to opposition leader Isaac Herzog in September, but Netanyahu later pulled back and talks collapsed in October, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Spokesmen for Netanyahu and Herzog, who heads the Zionist Union coalition dominated by his Labour party, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The effort came as moves were underway to restart peace talks with the Palestinians through a process that would include Arab countries in the region.

Netanyahu currently heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israeli history, with key members of his coalition openly opposing a Palestinian state.

Forming a unity government with the centre-left could have reassured Arab nations of his sincerity.

The document reportedly delivered to Herzog in September was a proposal for a joint declaration reiterating their commitment to a two-state solution and their desire to seek a resolution with the Palestinians.

It came some seven months after a previously reported secret meeting between Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and then US secretary of state John Kerry.

The meeting in the Jordanian city of Aqaba saw Kerry pitch a regional peace effort.

Arab countries have previously offered normalised relations with Israel in exchange for resolving the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Under Netanyahu’s plan, the draft document negotiated with Herzog was to be submitted at a summit in Egypt in October to launch a regional peace initiative.

The two men were then to announce negotiations for the formation of a unity government after returning from the summit, which ultimately did not occur, Haaretz said.

According to the paper, Netanyahu later told Herzog he wanted to resolve controversy surrounding the evacuation of a Jewish outpost in the occupied West Bank first, and talks later collapsed.

Donald Trump has since taken office as US president and has sent mixed signals regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last month as Netanyahu visited the White House, Trump backed away from Washington’s years-long commitment to a two-state solution, saying he would support a single state if it led to peace.

Israeli right-wing politicians have welcomed Trump’s election, with some calling for an end to the idea of a Palestinian state.

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Fillon’s wife breaks silence over ‘fake jobs’ scandal

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Penelope Fillon, wife of 2017 French presidential candidate, Francois Fillon, seen in December 2016, is from Wales and is the mother of the couple's five children<br />Penelope Fillon, wife of 2017 French presidential candidate, Francois Fillon, seen in December 2016, is from Wales and is the mother of the couple's five children (AFP Photo/JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER)

The wife of scandal-hit French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon broke her silence Sunday over the “fake jobs” scandal that threatens to engulf his bid for power.

The former prime minister hopes to keep his election hopes alive with a rally in Paris but he is struggling to regain the initiative after a week in which members of his team deserted him.

Their departures followed Fillon’s disclosure that he would face charges over claims he gave his British-born wife and two of their children bogus parliamentary jobs.

In her first interview since the allegations of nearly 900,000 euros ($950,000) in pay, Penelope Fillon told Le Journal du Dimanche she had carried out “a lot of different tasks” for her husband during his lengthy political career.

She had also urged him to “keep going to the end” but said only he could make the decision to stay in the race.

Fillon, who turned 63 on Saturday, was once the frontrunner in an election in which Marine Le Pen is attempting to steer the far-right into power in a major European country.

But Fillon’s support plummeted after the financial claims were made and he is now polling third behind Le Pen and 39-year-old centrist Emmanuel Macron.

French lawmakers are allowed to employ family members, but investigators are looking into what work Penelope did after it emerged she did not even have a pass for the National Assembly building.

“He needed someone to do a lot of different tasks, and if it wasn’t for me, he would have paid someone to do it, so we decided it would be me,” Penelope told the paper.

The former prime minister has claimed the accusations are politically motivated, even suggesting he believes the ruling Socialist government is behind the investigation.

He told supporters Saturday their opponents were trying to “intimidate” them.

The danger for the conservative Republicans party is that an election that they once expected to win handily could slip away if Fillon remains their candidate.

Polls currently show he could be eliminated in the first round of the two-stage contest on April 23, leaving Le Pen and Macron to contest the May 7 runoff.

The Republicans’ decision-making body is to meet Monday evening — a day earlier than planned — “to evaluate the situation”, the party said Saturday.

Pressure grew on Fillon after it emerged police had raided his country manor house near Le Mans on Friday looking for evidence. His Paris apartment was searched on Thursday.

With some members of his party urging him to drop out, Sunday’s rally on the Trocadero plaza opposite the Eiffel Tower — heavy rain is forecast — will be a test of how much confidence remains.

– ‘Mr Clean’ –

Fillon was a surprise winner of the conservative nominating contest in November, campaigning as a “Mr Clean” unsullied by the legal difficulties of his opponents and pledging to slash half a million civil servants’ jobs.

But the claims about his expenses have led to barbs from critics that his moral authority has been undermined.

On Wednesday, Fillon revealed he would meet investigating magistrates on March 15 and be charged. His wife is also to face charges.

Fillon had previously said he would step down if such a development happened. But, to the dismay of many of his aides, he angrily accused the judicial system of bias and vowed to fight on.

His foreign affairs point man and campaign spokesman have quit and the leader of the small centrist UDI party said it was withdrawing its backing.

On Saturday, five members of the European Parliament from the Republicans also called for another candidate to be appointed before the March 17 deadline.

With just seven weeks to go before polling begins, the entourage of 71-year-old former premier Alain Juppe has said he is prepared to take over.

But Juppe, who is more centrist than Fillon, also has baggage — he was given a suspended jail sentence in 2004 over a party funding scandal.

– Juppe popularity –

Yet a poll on Friday showed Juppe would vault into the lead if he stood.

The financial accusations have added to an already open race. Le Pen, 48, campaigning on an anti-immigration and anti-EU platform, has sought to capitalise on the anti-establishment sentiment that propelled US President Donald Trump to power and led to the British vote to leave the European Union.

Polls currently show however that the National Front chief will be beaten in the second round by either the fast-rising Macron or the conservative candidate.

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Thirteen escape in latest Philippine jailbreak

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Thirteen detainees facing drug charges escaped from jail on Sunday, the latest in a series of prison breaks in the Philippines, authorities said.

The 13 slipped out of the jail in a police camp in San Fernando city north of Manila before dawn, said Derrick Arnold Carreon, spokesman for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

“They sawed through the bars of the metal grille,” he told AFP, adding an investigation was under way to find out how they got the saw.

The Philippines has frequently suffered mass escapes from prisons which are usually overcrowded, poorly maintained and inadequately guarded.

In the country’s biggest jailbreak, more than 150 inmates ecaped a prison in the southern Philippines in January after about a hundred gunmen stormed the facility.

In August 2016 members of a Muslim extremist group that pledges allegiance to the Islamic State group stormed a jail in the south and broke out 23 inmates.

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Trump to skip correspondents’ dinner as media row heats up

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President Donald Trump ratcheted up his feud with the US media Saturday, announcing he will skip the annual correspondents’ dinner one day after a row erupted over White House press access.

By boycotting the event Trump breaks a tradition that began in 1921 in which journalists invite the US president for a light-hearted roast.

The last time a president missed the event was in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was recovering after being shot in an assassination attempt. Reagan however phoned in with friendly remarks.

Richard Nixon, who despised the media, skipped the event in 1972.

Over the years the dinner organized by the White House Correspondents Association has evolved — or devolved, depending on one’s point of view — into the self-described “Nerd Prom” packed with Hollywood celebrities.

“I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Trump built his campaign on blasting the mainstream US press, and as president has intensified his media-bashing.

The WHCA said it will proceed with this year’s dinner, set for April 29.

The event “has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment [on freedom of the press] and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic,” WHCA president Jeff Mason tweeted.

Some news groups have already pulled out. Conde Nast, publisher of The New Yorker and Vanity Fair magazines, will be absent, and Bloomberg will no longer co-host a popular post-dinner party.

According to Buzzfeed News, CNN is debating whether to also pull out.

The New York Times has skipped the event for years to avoid charges that its reporters are too close to the White House.

Comedian Samantha Bee earlier announced she is hosting that same night at a nearby hotel an event titled “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” to raise money for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

– “Protesting strongly” –

Trump’s cancelation comes one day after the White House denied access to an off-camera briefing to several major US media outlets, including CNN and The New York Times.

Smaller outlets that have provided favorable coverage however were allowed to attend the briefing by spokesman Sean Spicer.

The WHCA said it was “protesting strongly” against the decision to selectively deny media access.

The New York Times said the decision was “an unmistakable insult to democratic ideals,” CNN called it “an unacceptable development,” and The Los Angeles Times warned the incident had “ratcheted up the White House’s war on the free press” to a new level.

Speaking Friday at the annual CPAC gathering of conservative activists and politicians, Trump slammed the mainstream US media as “the enemy of the people,” and labeled the fourth estate “fake news” and the “opposition party.”

Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon, a former head of the right-wing news site Breitbart, predicted earlier at CPAC that relations with the media would only get worse as the president rolls out his agenda.

– ‘Unwise’ –

It is not uncommon for Republican and Democratic administrations to brief a limited number of reporters on specific themes.

However Friday’s White House event was initially billed as a regular briefing open to credentialed media before it became a closed event in Spicer’s office for a cherry-picked group of participants.

Several outlets that regularly cover the White House, including newswires Reuters and Bloomberg, attended. They are part of the “pool,” a small group of reporters who have access to certain events and share the contents with other media.

The Associated Press boycotted the event in protest at the exclusions, which included The Los Angeles Times and Politico.

AFP was not included despite being part of the press pool. Its journalist protested, and attended the briefing uninvited.

During the off-camera briefing, Spicer said that the White House has shown an “abundance of accessibility… making ourselves, our team and our briefing room more accessible than probably any previous administration.”

He gave no explanation for the media selection.

As protests erupted over the incident, a December interview re-emerged in which Spicer told Politico that the Trump White House would never ban a news outlet.

“Conservative, liberal or otherwise, I think that’s what makes a democracy a democracy versus a dictatorship,” he said.

Ari Fleischer, a former George W. Bush spokesman, said he viewed the White House’s stance as “unwise and counterproductive,” but also argued for Friday’s incident to be kept in perspective.

“Press secretaries need to meet with the whole press,” Fleischer told CNN. “But beyond that, there is nothing unusual about presidents meeting with selected reporters, and White House staffs do it all the time too.”

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Ndoma-Egba: Time for change, solution to various problems facing Niger Delta has come

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Abuja – The Chairman, Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, has urged the people of the Niger Delta region to embrace the Federal Government’s option of dialogue and consultation.

Mrs Clara Braide, the Special Assistant, Communication Office of the Chairman Governing Board of NDDC, said this in a statement she issued on Sunday in Abuja.

Braide quoted Ndoma-Egba as describing steps taken by the Presidency to meet with key leaders and stakeholders in the region, ”highly commendable and remarkable.”

He noted that the steps were part of efforts to bring about lasting peace to the region.

“The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, following the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently on vacation, has in recent weeks been on a tour of major communities in the region,” the chairman said.

According to him, the aim of the Osinbajo’s tour is to have direct interface with the people of the region.

“The ongoing tour of the region is a further demonstration of the commitment of the Federal Government toward the development of the region.”

He maintained that Buhari’s government meant well for the people of region, stressing, however, that only the entrenchment of peace, could guarantee overall development of the region.

According to Ndoma-Egba, destruction of oil facilities and other government-owned assets within the region will not solve the problem, but aggravate the monumental infrastructural and environmental challenges facing the region.

He further said that NDDC and all other stakeholders were very appreciative of the move by the Presidency.

The chairman noted that the development of region would serve as a push for the new board and management of the interventionist agencies to be up and doing in the discharge of their duties.

The NDDC chairman expressed optimism that the time for change and solution to the various problems facing the region had come.

He, however, stressed the need for the people of the region to give the present administration all necessary supports to encourage it to continue transforming the region.

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PDP wins Etche Constituency election

Aluko, Diezani’s ally owes tax in New York

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Kola Aluko, a Nigerian oil mogul, wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is owing the City of New York some overdue property tax.

The New York Post said the $25,000 tax is over Aluko’s 79th floor penthouse at One57 in Manhattan which he bought for $51 million in 2014.

The penthouse has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, 6,240 square feet, sweeping views of Central Park. Now the property has a past-due bill of $25,000.

And that’s even with the benefit of a 421a partial tax exemption that knocked down what would have been a annual tax bill of $250,000 to $50,000, the Post reported.

But Aluko has bigger problem in Nigeria and Europe.

The 47-year-old tycoon, linked to former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, is under investigation for alleged money-laundering crimes.

A Nigerian court, according to various reports, tried to freeze Aluko’s assets, including his One57 unit, as part of the alleged scheme to defraud the government of oil sale profits.

Meanwhile, as of last year, a Nigerian court could not find Aluko to serve him with papers. He may simply be floating around the world on his 213-foot yacht, the Galactica Star.

In 2015, the ship was sailing around the Mediterranean. It was spotted in Cancun last year, and may now be berthed in Turkey.

The immovability of real estate is one reason Gary Barnett of Extell Development isn’t too concerned about delinquent real estate taxes or overdue maintenance fees.

“It’s not uncommon in a condo building, but eventually, everybody pays,” he said. That’s because upon any sale, the condo board’s liens should theoretically be paid off.

Barnett says authorities investigating fraudulent purchases are delighted when the money is used to buy real estate and not art or yachts that can float away.

“All this stuff that’s transportable, like art that you can put on a plane and sell anywhere, is what law enforcement doesn’t want [them to buy]. The yacht’s movable, but he can’t move his condo,” Barnett explained.

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When your man cheats, buy him condoms instead of walking out of the marriage — Seyi Hunter

Peugeot to keep German jobs if it buys Opel: report

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Peugeot

French automaker PSA has pledged to keep Opel plants in Germany running if a planned merger goes forward, and to refrain from layoffs until at least 2019, a newspaper report said Sunday.

PSA, the parent company of France’s Peugeot, Citroen and DS, has confirmed it is interested in taking over Opel, the German arm of US giant General Motors.

But the plans have sparked fears in Germany that Peugeot will cut jobs that overlap with existing positions in France.

German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that Olivier Bourges, who sits on PSA’s executive committee, had assured high-level German officials at a meeting at Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office on Thursday that existing contracts would be respected.

They stipulate that redundancies in Germany’s Opel workforce would be ruled out until the end of 2018 and that investment pledges for four German factories would be kept until at least 2020.

The Bild am Sonntag report did not cite its sources.

“Peugeot wants to make sure it doesn’t seem like a hostile takeover,” an unidentified workers’ representative told the newspaper.

Bild said Opel executives expected PSA to set out the broad terms for a merger in the coming week, with the aim of signing the deal at the latest at the Geneva International Motor Show, which starts March 9.

Founded in 1862 as a sewing machine maker, Opel, with its lightning-bolt emblem, has long been a familiar sight on German and European roads.

But in recent years, the company has booked repeated losses, costing Detroit-based GM around $15 billion (14 billion euros) since 2000.

Opel sells more cars in Britain, under its Vauxhall brand, than in any other European country.

A sharp fall in the pound since Britain’s vote to quit the EU last June sank Opel’s hopes of returning to profitability in 2016, and it ended up reporting a loss of $257 million.

At the end of 2015, it had 35,600 employees, including about 18,250 in Germany.

Opel has some 10 factories in Europe spread across six countries. In Britain, it sells its vehicles under the Vauxhall brand.

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FIFA extends ban on Chris Giwa, others

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Chris Giwa

World football’s governing body FIFA on Tuesday said it had extended a ban on five officials who have been involved in a leadership battle for control of the game in Nigeria.

FIFA said its disciplinary committee had “decided to extend the five-year ban from taking part in any kind of football-related activity” on Chris Giwa and four others.

The ban would apply worldwide, it said in a statement on its website.

Giwa, the former owner of Giwa FC in the central city of Jos, has insisted since August 2014 that he was elected as the rightful president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

But the result of the ballot was disputed and prompted FIFA to threaten to ban Nigeria from international competition unless the election was re-run.

Amaju Pinnick was duly elected as NFF boss but Giwa has since dragged the federation to court to challenge its legitimacy.

In May last year the NFF banned him and his supporters for impersonation and breaching FIFA rules by taking football matters to a civil court.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) also confirmed the ban.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kCJLZu