₦airaland Forum

Thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes inoculated with Viagra have potentially escaped from a high-security laboratory in Wuhan, China.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology announced the security breach yesterday claiming that the genetically modified mosquitoes were harmless to the population.

Dr. Wenzi Ying Yin Jing, head researcher at the institute, warned that the most disturbing side effects of a bite from one of the escaped mosquitoes would be a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged.
Another patient was also admitted at the Wuhan Hospital but thrown out by security agents after walking around the hospital naked and masturbating openly in public.

“The young man felt an uncontrollable sexual urge towards men, women, animals, and even plants and showed symptoms which could be attributed to this particular mosquito,” one doctor explained.

Other experts have expressed fears that the Wuhan high-security laboratory, where testing on a number of different viruses such as rabies, HIV, and the coronavirus occurs daily, could have spread amongst the escaped genetically modified mosquitoes and create a super virus.

Source: https://worldnewsdailyreport.com/wuhan-thousands-of-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-inoculated-with-viagra-escape-from-high-security-laboratory/

That's the truth

princemillla:
South over dependent on Northern food stuff is just too much. The we really need to step up our food productions.

If the north agrees to break up, just wondering wat will be the way

Most of the food come from middle belt, and the northerns won't allow our farmers to work, in a situation where they go about with cows and weapons in our farms....

Thank you

jesusjnr2020:
^^^^^Produced a lot of covetous, materialistic and corrupt persons.

Keying into "covenant of wealth" (which suffered a huge setback due to Covid-19 despite tithing) instead of doing what Jesus said:

Matthew 6:32-33 (KJV)

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

It said all other things shall be added, please can you tell us some of the things that would be added when you put God First.
Abraham obeyed God God and he was blessed in all things Gen 24vs1
Isaac put God first see what God did for him Gen 26 especially vs 12 even a country came to sign a peace agreement with him if you read from Vs 27 .
So we await what the addition is ...

Rip

For now nooo

this is good, we should follow suite

Oil jumped close to $70 a barrel after a U.S. airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump killed a top Iranian general in Iraq, intensifying fears of conflict in the world’s most important crude-producing region.

In a turbulent start to the trading day marked by unusually heavy volumes, futures in London and New York surged by more than 4% to levels not seen since the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil production in September. The strike near Baghdad airport killed Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general who led the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force, according to a Defense Department statement.

While no oil installations or production were impacted, the killing of one of Iran’s most powerful generals is a provocation that ratchets up tension between Washington and Tehran, heightening fears of an armed confrontation that could pull in other countries. As focus shifts to how Iran will react, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed that “severe retaliation” awaits the killers of Soleimani, according to a statement.

This is a seismic event in the region,” said Jason Bordoff, a former Obama administration official who now works for Columbia University. “This is how US-Iran tit-for-tat spirals out of control. Iran’s response will be severe and deadly. And certainly may include escalating attacks on energy infrastructure.”

Crude prices had pared some of their immediate gains by midday in Singapore but remained at the highest levels since September. Brent crude for March settlement was up $1.94, or 2.9%, at $68.19 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange at 7:11 a.m. in London. It earlier jumped as much as 4.4% to $69.16 a barrel.

In New York, West Texas Intermediate for February delivery was 2.9% higher at $62.93 a barrel. The contract earlier advanced as much as 4.4% to $63.84, exceeding September’s levels to the highest since May. Total aggregate volume for Brent and WTI was about 17 times the 30-day average.

Tensions have been building between Washington and Tehran after an Iran-backed Iraqi militia stormed the American embassy in Baghdad to protest deadly U.S. airstrikes earlier this week. Saudi Arabia’s energy facilities as well as foreign tankers in and around the Persian Gulf have been the target of several attacks over the past year — a region that includes OPEC’s five biggest producers.

The U.S. and Iran are already facing off over Trump’s crippling economic campaign against Tehran and suspected Iranian reprisals. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Thursday that America was ready to deploy more force in Iraq after the attack on its embassy.

Soleimani, who led proxy militias that extended Iran’s power across the Middle East, was hit in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad International Airport, according to a U.S. official. Details remained unclear, but a person familiar with the developments said an Iraqi militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was also killed.

https://time.com/5758247/qasem-soleimani-oil-price/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=world_&linkId=80019330

Get professionals and let them do a re entry process for them, by doing test and interview... Anyone that doesn't meet the required standard that has been communicated to them earlier should go....

And remember school business has to do with relationship especially with the parents, look for a way to be close to with parents before doing the above, or else they would go with some of the students....

Please add lapai ..... Ibrahim badamosi babangida university lapai...

China and the U.S. have agreed on the text of a phase one trade deal, which will see the removal of tariffs on Chinese goods in stages, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said, as U.S. President Donald Trump announced some reduction in tariffs.

China will increase imports from the U.S. and other countries, Wang said at a briefing in Beijing Friday. The comments are China’s first response to a deal signed off by Trump on Thursday that would halt higher tariffs planned for Dec. 15 and represent the first phase in defusing the trade war that’s shaken the global economy.

Trump tweeted, “we have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China. They have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of Agricultural Product, Energy, and Manufactured Goods, plus much more. The 25% Tariffs will remain as is, with 7 1/2% put on much of the remainder...”

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
We have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China. They have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of Agricultural Product, Energy, and Manufactured Goods, plus much more. The 25% Tariffs will remain as is, with 7 1/2% put on much of the remainder....
Sent via Twitter for iPhone.

View original tweet.

“The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the deal. We will begin negotiations on the Phase Two Deal immediately, rather than waiting until after the 2020 Election. This is an amazing deal for all. Thank you!,” according to his Twitter post.

U.S. stocks rallied, with the S&P 500 Index jumping to a record, amid signs the tensions are easing between the world’s two largest economies. Washington and Beijing have been in trade war for about 18 months involving nearly $500 billion in products shipped between the two nations.


The text, which comprises nine chapters, includes sections on intellectual property, forced technology transfer, food and agricultural products, finance, currency and transparency, boosting trade, bilateral assessment and dispute resolution, according to the officials.

Both sides agreed to finish the final stages such as legal review and translation as soon as possible and work on arrangements for the final signing, said Wang.

First announced by Trump on Oct. 11, the interim deal with China offers a short-term political victory for the president and will allow him to claim that his tariffs have paid dividends, at the risk of being accused of postponing tougher issues like China’s industrial subsidies.

For Beijing, reducing even some of the tariffs that have been imposed since last year represents a win for President Xi Jinping, who is also facing pressure to not give in to the other side

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2019-12-13/china-says-deal-agreed-u-s-to-roll-back-tariffs-in-stages?__twitter_impression=true

Ole

We were forced To Create The HIV Virus As a Secret Weapon To Wipe Out The African Race. Dr. Robert Gallo finally speaks.

A review of the Special Virus Flow Chart (“research logic”) reveals the United States was seeking a ‘virus particle’ that would negatively impact the defense mechanisms of the immune system of the African race.

When asked, Dr. Robert Gallo explained: “We were forced To Create The HIV Virus As a Secret Weapon To Wipe Out The African Race.”

According to Global Health Observatory (GHO) Data, Global situation and trends:

Since the beginning of the epidemic, almost 71 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 34 million people have died of HIV globally. Unfortunately, there are other versions of similar headlines but different with the intention to distort facts and misinform the general public when in fact there has not been any consensus by world leaders to engage experts for thorough investigation.

In April 1984, Dr. Robert Gallo filed a United States patent application for his invention, the HIV/AIDS Virus. Normally, when a patent is filed and approved, as Dr. Gallo’s was, anyone who uses the product or invention owes a royalty payment to the inventor. Thus, holding the intellectual property laws to their fullest interpretations, one must only wonder why Dr. Gallo has yet to file a lawsuit seeking to recover damages from the usage of his invention? As odd as this scenario may sound, it bears need for additional scrutiny.
The scientific evidence is complete and compelling, the AIDS Virus is a designer bi-product of the U.S. Special Virus program. The Special Virus program was a federal virus development program that persisted in the United States from 1962 until 1978. The U.S. Special Virus was then added as ‘compliment’ to vaccine inoculations in Africa and Manhattan. Shortly thereafter the world was overwhelmed with mass infections of a human retrovirus that differed from any known human disease, it was highly contagious and more importantly, it could kill.

A review of the Special Virus Flow Chart (“research logic”) reveals the United States was seeking a ‘virus particle’ that would negatively impact the defense mechanisms of the immune system. The program sought to modify the genome of the virus particle in which to splice in an animal “wasting disease” called “Visna”.

According to the Proceedings of the United States of America, AIDS is an evolutionary, laboratory development of the peculiar Visna Virus, first detected in Icelandic sheep. Recently, American and world scientists confirm with 100% certainty the laboratory genesis of AIDS. This fact is further underscored when one reviews the ‘multiply-spliced’ nature of the HIV ‘tat’ gene and Dr. Gallo’s 1971 Special Virus paper, “Reverse Transcriptase of Type-C virus Particles of Human Origin”.

Dr. Gallo’s 1971 Special Virus paper is identical to his 1984 announcement of AIDS. Upon further review the record reveals that he filed his patent on AIDS, before he made the announcement with Secretary Heckler. Earlier this year, Dr. Gallo conceded his role as a ‘Project Officer’ for the federal virus development program, the Special Virus.

The Flow Chart of the program and the 15 progress reports are irrefutable evidence of the United States’ secret plan to cull world populations via the unleashing of a stealth biological microorganism that would ‘waste’ humanity. In light of this true genesis of the world’s most divesting biological scourge, it is the United States that owes ‘royal’ payments to the innocent victims. Each and every victim of AIDS is deserving of a formal apology and a sense of economic closure for an invention of death and despair, perpetrated by the United States.

The eyes of the world are upon the General Accounting Office’s Health Care Team, under the direction of William J. Scanlon. Between 1964 and 1978, the secret federal virus program spent $550 million dollars of taxpayer money to invent AIDS. It is now necessary to spend whatever it takes to dismantle an invention that has led to the greatest crime against humanity in the history of the world.


When an atrocious expose or a revelation of this magnitude is released to the public, one would expect world leaders to come out and summon emergency meeting to investigate the veracity of such claim. Not when it involves the oppressors, the set of leaders that thrive in double standards. They preach human right without respect for human life, they use the same human right to invade sovereign nations with fabricated lies to kill hapless women and children just to settle political scores, only to apologise when the truth is unravel. If such atrocity happens in less developed countries, the same hypocrite will start to shouts war crimes to high heaven and want the person prosecuted in The Hague. Reader reactions will be appreciated.

Source:https://pinvibe.com.ng/forced-create-hiv-virus-secret-weapon-wipe-african-race-dr-robert-gallo-finally-speaks/

Old age will tell....

North Korea Hands Over Remains of U.S. Soldiers From Korean War
Formal repatriation ceremony to be held at Osan Air Base in South Korea on Wednesday
A military plane landed at Osan Air Base on Friday with remains of some U.S. soldiers. The next step will be for the U.S. to conduct DNA tests to match the remains with the identities of soldiers killed in the Korean War.
A military plane landed at Osan Air Base on Friday with remains of some U.S. soldiers. The next step will be for the U.S. to conduct DNA tests to match the remains with the identities of soldiers killed in the Korean War.

By Jonathan Cheng in Seoul and Andrew Jeong in Osan Air Base, South Korea
Updated July 27, 2018 12:10 a.m. ET
North Korea on Friday handed over the remains of some U.S. soldiers who died during the 1950-53 Korean War, giving new momentum to a diplomatic detente that had shown signs of stalling in recent weeks.

Exactly 65 years after the signing of an armistice that ended hostilities in the conflict, a U.S. military plane flew the remains to Osan Air Base in South Korea after collecting them from North Korean officials in the port city of Wonsan.

“We are encouraged by North Korea’s actions and the momentum for positive change,” the White House said in a statement. “Today’s actions represent a significant first step to recommence the repatriation of remains from North Korea and to resume field operations in North Korea to search for the estimated 5,300 Americans who have not yet returned home.”

A formal repatriation ceremony would be held at Osan Air Base on Wednesday, the statement said.

President Trump welcomed the news in a tweet. “After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong Un, ” he said.

The return of the remains follows through on one aspect of the joint statement signed by Messrs. Trump and Kim in Singapore last month, in which North Korea agreed to the “immediate repatriation” of the remains of U.S. soldiers already identified.

It also comes as Pyongyang pushes for a formal declaration to end the Korean War, which left the peninsula divided.

On Friday, 55 wooden boxes containing the soldiers’ remains, draped in sky-blue United Nations flags, were unloaded from a C-17 aircraft after it touched down in South Korea.

About 60 South Korean, U.S., Thai and Filipino military personnel from the U.N. Command formed honor guards at Osan Air Base to mark the repatriation. Hundreds of U.S. military personnel and their families also lined up to pay their respects.

“It’s time to bring them home,” said retired Air Force veteran Ernest Lee of Cherry Hill, N.J., who was at Osan for the occasion.

The next step will be for the U.S. to conduct DNA tests to match the remains with the identities of U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict.

In 2011, North Korea returned the remains of a dead animal to the U.K. during a similar diplomatic detente, according to a memoir published earlier this year by Thae Yong Ho, the North’s deputy ambassador to London before he defected to South Korea in 2016.

Meanwhile, at a cemetery east of Pyongyang, Mr. Kim, the North Korean leader, used the armistice anniversary to strengthen his ties with China, which sent a delegation to the North Korean capital on Wednesday for high-level talks. The Chinese sent troops to defend North Korea in 1950, and lost tens of thousands of men, including the son of former leader Mao Zedong.

To mark the anniversary, Mr. Kim laid wreaths at a “martyrs tower” and at the grave of Mao Anying, North Korea’s state media said Friday.

The process of repatriating the U.S. soldiers’ remains from North Korea has taken longer than many had expected, and questions remain over how many Pyongyang still holds.

Still, the development raises hopes of a sustained improvement in relations between Pyongyang and Washington. Recent satellite imagery showed that North Korea was moving to dismantle its satellite launch site at Sohae, on its northwest coast, apparently fulfilling a pledge that Mr. Kim made to Mr. Trump during their meeting in Singapore.

Suspicions linger, though, about North Korea’s willingness to make concessions on core security issues, including denuclearization—a priority of the Trump administration.

While the North dismantled its underground nuclear test site in its northeast in April, and has begun to take down its satellite launch facility, satellite imagery has shown the regime expanding facilities involved in producing fissile material and making components for advanced solid-fuel missiles.



Source
https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-korea-hands-over-remains-of-u-s-soldiers-from-korean-war-1532658625?redirect=amp#click=https:///awWx7gB2uC

Beware!

O’neal Incorporated
marvysammy@gmail.com – No 1, Babatunde str, off Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos

Globaldrill Bay Oil & Gas Limited
globaldrillbay@gmail.com,
info@globaldrillbayoil.com – Kristina Jade Learning Centre, No. 70B,
Olorunlogbon Street, Off Alade Lawal Street, Anthony Village. Lagos
State.

Virtual Human Resources Limited
tejumolavhr@yahoo.com – 5,Akpomuje, Okoto, Oshodi Lagos

Zeolite Plus
07031666139 – 6,Akinremi str., Anifowose, Ikeja

Beyond Stardom Nigeria Limited
Ile – Ile Bus Stop , Opposite SkyeBank Plc, Ketu, 505 Ikorodu Rd, Lagos
0805 356 7259

Grace Land Global Resources
cv.graceland@outlook.com – Block A, Mainland Avenue, Lagos.

Hibrah Nigeria
hr.recruitment044@outlook.com – Starlink house, suit 202, 8/10 Salamotu Eniola strt, Ilasa Lagos

Clinton Fund (CF)
hr@clinton-fund.org –

Hyena Ltd
hr.recruitment044@outlook.com – Starlink house, suit 202, 8/10 Salamotu Eniola strt, Ilasa Lagos

Virginland Careers
Virginland1careers@gmail.com – Lagos

Marigold Mobile Kitchens
info.marigoldkitchen@gmail.com – 73, Akerele Street Surulere Lagos

Note: This list can’t be complete because they keep changing name and address everyday, so be very cautious.

A rail company in Japan has apologised after one of its trains departed 20 seconds early.

Management on the Tsukuba Express line between Tokyo and the city of Tsukuba say they "sincerely apologise for the inconvenience" caused.

In a statement, the company said the train had been scheduled to leave at 9:44:40 local time but left at 9:44:20.

The mistake happened because staff had not checked the timetable, the company statement said.

"The crew did not sufficiently check the departure time and performed the departure operation," it said.

It added that no customers had complained about the early departure from Minami Nagareyama Station, which is just north of Tokyo.

The Tsukuba Express line takes passengers from Akihabara in eastern Tokyo to Tsukuba in about 45 minutes.

It is rare for trains in Japan, which has one of the world's most reliable railways, to depart at a different time to the one scheduled.

The country's Tokaido line, which runs from Tokyo to the city of Kobe, is by far the world's busiest and carries nearly 150 million passengers a year.

Impressed railway users worldwide tweeted the story to their local train operators - particularly in Britain, where rail services are often delayed

nice one... nov 1st is a reality....

Nigeria is a country blessed with so much human and natural resources, the country has always been a shining light in almost every endeavour possible in Africa and the world at large.

In Nigeria, the unfavourable socio-economic system has made it very difficult for indigenous companies, entrepreneurs and start-ups to excel to the fullest of their potential. There has been insinuations that foreign investors fare better in Nigeria compared to the home based companies. This may look like a fact but we have to examine the root cause of this ugly report.

For instance, in early 2007, an indigenous satellite TV company, HiTV came into existence to compete with the South African based cable company. To an average dish and decoder owner, they are more concerned with that company that can offer them value for their money.

HiTV started very well in competition with the popular company, offering same quality services with lesser prices, but what many cannot explain was how HiTV folded up within a few years of its existence.

There were rumours that the owner took some loans from banks to run the business but he could not pay back. This was certainly not the case, it was a mere propaganda and trick played to set the Nigerian people against the company and its owners. Further digging has revealed that the company was sabotaged by the popular cable company in connivance with some top management officials of the bank where HiTV took several millions of Naira to run the business.

Few months ago, news broke that another premium and quality Dish and Decoder company called TSTV entered the market to compete with others but with cheaper subscriptions. TSTV enjoyed massive media attention, they also enjoyed massive sympathy from Nigerians because of their promise to offer better services with less fees.

TSTV announced that they will be launching on October 1st, promising to give out over 5,000 free decoders, and naturally the company will produce over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs within few months of operation. Surprisingly, rumours started flying around that some powerful people who have interests in existing popular cable company were threatening TSTV. This news angered Nigerians and several people took to social media to air their opinions. The pressure made the alleged conspirators to pipe low.

Nigerians began to ask why any sane person will want to stop or destroy a company capable of offering quality service with less amount in favour of those ripping off citizens? Why should anyone want to stop the existence of a company capable of producing tens of thousands jobs for the unemployed skilled and unskilled people.

Since the plan to stop TSTV launch failed, the conspirators with popular the cable TV are reportedly making another dangerous move against TSTV which will have a negative impact on the Nigerian economy and affect the already excited potential subscribers.

It was gathered that a certain cable TV company went behind to contact the stations TSTV had already signed contracts with and allegedly paid them 5 million dollars to cancel those airing contracts with TSTV. At as the time of this report, it was gathered that fifteen TV stations have cancelled their contracts with TSTV.

Nigerians should not fold their arms and allow foreigners destroy our own indigenous companies, with the connivance of some saboteurs who are in the corridors of power.

TSTV has promised to introduce pay per view which should be the normal practice to the advantage of subscribers but existing cable TV which has been ripping Nigerians off for decades, is hell bent on sabotaging them to continue to exploit Nigerians. It is about time Nigerians speak up, and prevail on government to support TSTV’s stay and existence in Nigeria.

If we all allow those in the business to kill TSTV the same way they killed HiTV, many to our graduates who are potential employees of TSTV will remain unemployed, the existing cable TV will continue to cheat and rip Nigerians off. Nigerians should only pay for services enjoyed and not be subjected to the forceful monopoly.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/10/nigerians-must-not-allow-tstv-die/

The National President of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Aminu Goronyo, on Wednesday, disclosed that in the next few months, a 50kg bag of rice would be sold at the rate of N6000.

Goronyo made this known during a meeting between rice farmers, processors and the minister of agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

According to the Farmers’ boss, the anticipated crash in prices is due to wet season bumper harvest by farmers, adding that operators have resolved to reduce the price of a 50kg bag of rice, which is currently priced within the range of N15,000 to N17,000, to N13,000.

“This is just the beginning. The actual price will still come down because we are expecting a bumper harvest this year; we have sat down with the millers and agreed that we will work together for the interest of Nigerians,” he said.

“At one time, people were buying a bag of rice at the cost of N18,000 but they are now buying it at between N13,000 and N15,000. The price is coming down.

“In the next few months, God willing, the price of a 50kg bag will come down to N6,000. It is achievable, it will be a reality,’’ he said.

Mohammed Abubakar, chairman, Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN), said the associations had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to slash the prices of both paddy and processed rice.

“We have agreed at N110,000 per tonne of paddy. In the market, rice will come around N13,000 to N13,500 per 50kg bag,” he said.

“Before now, we were buying paddy at N140,000 and N150,000 per tonne and we are selling our products at N16,000 per 50kg bag.

“If this MoU works, we hope to sell a bag of rice at N13, 000 to N13, 500, depending on where you are in the country.”
Ogbeh commended the associations for their decision to slash the price of locally produced rice.

The minister, who noted that the biggest challenge facing rice farmers in the country was smuggling, said the move would aid efforts to stamp out rice smuggling into the country.

“Let me express the appreciation of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to both farmers and millers because nobody can calculate what you have done to rescue our country that was very close to disaster,” he said.

“What you have done is going to save us from a lot of difficulties. What we want to promise you is that we will help you ease the burden of rice farming.

“Last year, we procured 80,000 threshers; this year, we will procure another 2,500 threshers and we are bringing in small reapers for distribution to rice farmers.

“The equipment will enable them to cut the rice, thresh it, winnow it and put it in sacks; It will take away all the stress which makes rice farming very difficult so that you can keep to the price of N110, 000 per tonne of paddy that we agreed.

“If we are able to keep these prices stable and we are able to contain smuggling, I hope you will keep us informed when there are any challenges confronting you because no country can claim to be strong if its citizens are hungry.

“Let everybody know that the price of rice for this Christmas will be good enough for us to eat rice, chicken and fish.”

The federal government had banned the importation to improve local production and some states like Lagos and Kebbi have jointly produced rice for commercial activities in their states.

Data made available by the National Bureau of Statistics show that export activities in the agricultural sector has been on the rise in 2017.

source:http://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-bag-rice-n6000/

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has secured about $1 billion from multilateral donors, including the government of Japan, to expand and rehabilitate its facilities, it was learnt.

TCN’s Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Usman Gur Mohammed, told The Nation that the Federal Government through the Ministries of Power, Works and Housing and Finance, had secured significant amount through that source to support improvement of the transmission arm of the power sector.

Mohammed was in Lagos on the directive of Power, Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Fashola to inspect one of the TCN’s transmission towers that is being threatened by refuse dump and illegal oil refining and burning. The TCN chief said such activities compromises the integrity of the tower, adding that in the event of a problem, the maintenance team of the company would not have access to the facility for repairs. Should the tower collapse as a result of the compromise, the entire Apapa and environs would be out of power supply, he added.

“Therefore, it is imperative that I came to see things, discuss and collaborate with Lagos State Government to find solution to the problem and permanently stop the nefarious activities going on under the tower,” he added.

On tackling the funding problem facing the TCN, Mohammed said: “Funding problem in the power sector is not restricted only to the transmission, it extends to all other arms of the power industry. The liquidity in the sector is so low because the collection efficiency is very low. It is what the distribution companies collected that are distributed to all the other arms including transmission.

“But since the coming of this government, it has been putting money in transmission. Money that has been put by this government into transmission has never been put into transmission in the history of Nigeria.

“We have also secured a lot of funding from multilateral donors, backed by the Ministries of Power, Works and Housing and Finance, and this is being channeled into transmission. To me, funding is not so much a big issue to transmission because we have got the support of the government.

“Even though we are not getting enough from the market, the government is supporting us through the multilateral donors that give us money to finance our expansion and rehabilitation programme. So, I can assure you everything is going on well and in the next one or two years, Nigerians will see the difference.

“We have secured significant amount of money from the multilateral donors but the utilisation of such funds depend on the outcome of the tenders. Tenders under the multilateral donors’ fund have to be internationally competitive and, by my estimate, we have secured about $1 billion. We have existing projects that have not been doing well, which have been resuscitated.”

source: http://thenationonlineng.net/tcn-gets-1b-expansion-others/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3Bm%2FsK0MdOSWqd8l7yN5z%2Fog%3D%3D

Rank* Player Name Club
1 Paul Pogba Manchester United
2 Romelu Lukaku Manchester United
3 Eden Hazard Chelsea
4 Alexandre Lacazette Arsenal
5 Marcus Rashford Manchester United
6 Harry Kane Tottenham
7 Sadio Mane Liverpool
8 Lionel Messi Barcelona
9 Philippe Coutinho Liverpool
10 Zlatan Ibrahimovic Manchester United
11 Dele Alli Tottenham
12 Roberto Firmino Liverpool
13 Matt Ritchie Newcastle
14 Ander Herrera Manchester United
15 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
16 Henrikh Mkhitaryan Manchester United
17 Dwight Gayle Newcastle
18 Neymar PSG
19 N'Golo Kante Chelsea
20 Mesut Ozil Arsenal

It’s that time of year again. When the yellow ties are grabbed from the back of the wardrobe and when social media becomes a never-ending whirlpool of speculation and conjecture. Tomorrow is transfer deadline day.

Decision-making isn’t always at its best on this day, as has been demonstrated through the years. Panic buys are a staple of the final day of the transfer window. Here are seven of the most shocking transfer deadline day transfers ever made.

Ashley Cole

Liverpool transfer target Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain certainly isn’t the first player to consider crossing the London divide between Arsenal and Chelsea. Indeed, Ashley Cole went through with it in 2006 in what was one of the most controversial transfers in British football history.

The England international wrote in his autobiography how he nearly “swerved off the road” upon hearing that Arsenal were only willing to offer £55,000-a-week. With just a year left on his contract, rivals Chelsea swooped to sign Cole for a cut-price £5million, and William Gallas, with the left-back going on to become a key member of the Blues’ title-winning side.

Marouane Fellaini

No one signing has ever embodied so much. The deadline day signing of Marouane Fellaini for £27.5million represented a failure of a summer for Manchester United and their new manager David Moyes. Having chased of Cristiano Ronaldo and Cesc Fàbregas, the Old Trafford side ended up with Fellaini for a hugely-inflated fee. He didn’t exactly whet appetites.

In truth, Fellaini’s reputation has never really recovered from this transfer, even as he has proved himself as a valuable member of Manchester United’s squad over the past four years. The Belgian was the epitome of Moyes’ ill-fated reign at the club. Who knows how things would have turned out had he been able to sign the players he wanted.

David Luiz

There weren’t many shocks on transfer deadline day last summer, but the return of David Luiz to Chelsea raised more than a few eyebrows. New manager Antonio Conte had scrambled for central defenders all summer long, but had been left frustrated. And so he turned to a familiar face in the Brazilian to help ease his defensive woes.

Many assumed Luiz wouldn’t be the kind of centre back to thrive under Conte, but Chelsea went on to win the title in the Italian’s first season in England, with the former Paris Saint-Germain man a key member of the starting lineup. This is a deadline day deal that despite initial misgivings worked out.

Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez

Nobody expected this one. Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez were regarded two of the brightest young players in the game at the time, with some of Europe’s biggest and best clubs monitoring the two Argentines. So it was somewhat surprising when West Ham completed a deal for them on deadline day in 2006.

Mascherano and Tevez themselves looked bemused as they were unveiled to the press. On the field, they were a resounding success for the Hammers, but off the field the club was fined £5.5million for breaching rules on third party ownership, not to mention the £20million in compensation they were forced to pay to Sheffield United after they argued Mascherano and, in particular, Tevez had helped relegate them.

Robinho

This was the quintessential transfer deadline day deal. The transfer was conducted so quickly even Robinho himself didn’t know exactly who he was signing for, admitting that he thought he was joining Manchester United and Manchester City.

But the £32.5million capture of the Brazilian, then considered one of the best players in the world, was a watershed moment for a future Premier League powerhouse.

Of course, Robinho made no real impression on the Premier League, despite a brilliant start, leaving Man City just two years later. But the precedent his signing set put the club on course to becoming the force they are today. Without Robinho it might have taken much longer for City to establish themselves as a power.


Wayne Rooney

While this deal was completed on the very last day of the 2004 summer transfer window, it had been expected for quite some time.

Ferguson chased Wayne Rooney, the then teenager who had just lit up the European Championships for England, all summer long, finally getting his man for a then record £26.5million. The rest was history, quite literally.

Rooney went on to become the most prolific goalscorer in Manchester United’s history, winning everything there is to win in the sport at the club. He came to define an era at Old Trafford, even if he outstayed his welcome before returning to Goodison Park this summer.

Fernando Torres/Andy Carroll

This was complete and utter transfer deadline day madness. In fact, we perhaps have this double deal to blame for the frenzy that now surrounds the final day of the transfer window. This was the moment during which Jim White became a household name.

First of all, Fernando Torres completed a shocking switch from Liverpool to Chelsea for a then record £50million. Reds manager Kenny Dalglish needed a replacement and with the coffers full slapped down an astonishing £35 million offer for Newcastle United’s Andy Carroll.

The move didn’t work out for Carroll, though, scoring just six goals in 26 league appearances for the Merseysiders. Meanwhile, Torres struggled to find his groove, but won league titles and the Champions League in 2010. Swings and roundabouts.

Statistics from Internetworldstats has shown that Nigeria ranks 8th among the top 20 global internet users, while data from the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) showed that Lagos State leads in terms of internet usage in Nigeria.

Data from the international survey placed Nigeria at the 8th position among the top 20 users and placed Germany and the United Kingdom at 9th and 12th position respectively while the local survey placed Lagos state as the leading internet-using state at 12.82%. Bayelsa, Yobe and Ebonyi lead the ranking from the behind with 0.74%, 0.78%, and 0.82% respectively. Terrorism plagued Borno has 1.47% of users still. The Federal Capital Territory comes 5th with 4.65% after Ogun (6.01%), Oyo (5.28%), and Kano (4.75%) states.

From the data provided by the internet world stats, the sum total number of internet users from the top 20 countries with the most internet is 2,738,949,556, while the sum of the rest countries were 993,023,867. The figures represent a significant difference between both ends. Nigeria has a total of 93,591,174 internet users.

Although the ranking seems impressive, there are a number of implications that are worthy of consideration. At the 8th position, Nigeria has more internet users than some first world countries like Germany and the United Kingdom, This can only be attributed to our large population. It does not truly represent spread and efficiency. As the earlier stats show, the majority of internet users are in the cities of Lagos, Abuja and Portharcourt. That indicates how far we still are from the broadband ubiquity project. This also tells much about literacy rates, economic development, political emancipation and many other indices.

This also further restate the economic status of Lagos and why rural-urban migration is not an issue that will soon go away. With such slope between the percentages of internet users in Nigeria, there is bound to be the difference in attainment and exposure as they are not armed with the same quality and quantity of information. For equity sake, efforts should be made by the bodies in charge to equip these states, as it is paramount to their development and productivity. It may also be the answer to some of the challenges faced by the said states.

With Nigerians at such elevated position in terms internet usage, the question of why we are a developing country is not far-fetched. With time, Nigerians can use the resources they have to dominate the world.

Microsoft is buying social-networking site LinkedIn in an all-cash transaction for $26.2 billion, company officials announced June 13.

The move fits in with Microsoft's increasing push to focus on business customers.

Founded in 2002, Mountain View, Calif.-based LinkedIn had approximately 400 million users in 2015. The company provides a social network alternative for finding professional and work connections, sharing resumes and potentially finding new posts.

In 2015, LinkedIn bought Lynda.com for $1.2 billion to help the company bolster its online learning/training and talent-development capacities.

According to the press release, Jeff Weiner will remain CEO ofLinkedIn, reporting to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Reid Hoffman, chairman of the board, co-founder and controlling shareholder of LinkedIn, and Weiner both fully support this transaction. The transaction is expected to close this calendar year, subject to the approval of LinkedIn shareholders.

Many are asking me why Microsoft bought LinkedIn (and why the company paid so much for the company). I admit, I, too am scratching my head.

Microsoft's press release mentions LinkedIn's new version of its mobile app and the enhancement of its newsfeed "to deliver business insights." (Check off buzzwords "mobile" and "insights.) It also mentions Lynda.com as a key asset, as well as LinkedIn's Recruiter product, which targets enterprise customers.

Microsoft bought enterprise social-networking vendor Yammer for $1.2 billion in 2012, and since then has ended up cribbing a number of Yammer technologies in its own Office 365 service. Yammer is one of a number of overlapping technologies from Microsoft that is part of its social-networking portfolio.

Update: Nadella's June 13 email to the troops about the LinkedIn deal sheds a bit more light on management's thinking around the buy. Microsoft officials see LinkedIn fitting in with Office 365, Dynamics CRM/ERP and Microsoft's advertising efforts.

From Nadella's mail:

"How people find jobs, build skills, sell, market and get work done and ultimately find success requires a connected professional world. It requires a vibrant network that brings together a professional's information in LinkedIn's public network with the information in Office 365 and Dynamics. This combination will make it possible for new experiences such as a LinkedIn newsfeed that serves up articles based on the project you are working on and Office suggesting an expert to connect with via LinkedIn to help with a task you're trying to complete. As these experiences get more intelligent and delightful, the LinkedIn and Office 365 engagement will grow. And in turn, new opportunities will be created for monetization through individual and organization subscriptions and targeted advertising."

Here's the Nadella mail in full:

Team,

I'm excited to share that today Microsoft announced a deal to acquire LinkedIn. You can see how Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, and I envision the opportunity ahead in this public presentation.

This deal brings together the world's leading professional cloud with the world's leading professional network. I have been learning about LinkedIn for some time while also reflecting on how networks can truly differentiate cloud services. It's clear to me that the LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business and an impressive network of more than 433 million professionals.

Given this is the biggest acquisition for Microsoft since I became CEO, I wanted to share with you how I think about acquisitions overall. To start, I consider if an asset will expand our opportunity -- specifically, does it expand our total addressable market? Is this asset riding secular usage and technology trends? And does this asset align with our core business and overall sense of purpose?

The answer to all of those questions with LinkedIn is squarely yes. We are in pursuit of a common mission centered on empowering people and organizations. Along with the new growth in our Office 365 commercial and Dynamics businesses this deal is key to our bold ambition to reinvent productivity and business processes. Think about it: How people find jobs, build skills, sell, market and get work done and ultimately find success requires a connected professional world. It requires a vibrant network that brings together a professional's information in LinkedIn's public network with the information in Office 365 and Dynamics. This combination will make it possible for new experiences such as a LinkedIn newsfeed that serves up articles based on the project you are working on and Office suggesting an expert to connect with via LinkedIn to help with a task you're trying to complete. As these experiences get more intelligent and delightful, the LinkedIn and Office 365 engagement will grow. And in turn, new opportunities will be created for monetization through individual and organization subscriptions and targeted advertising.

Jeff and I both believe we have a significant opportunity to accelerate LinkedIn's growth and the value it brings to its members with Microsoft's assets and scale. In fact, when Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, and I spoke about the opportunity for us to come together, he called it a "re-founding" moment for LinkedIn and an opportunity to reach the mission the company set out on 13 years ago.

The opportunity for Office 365 and Dynamics is just as profound. Over the past decade we have moved Office from a set of productivity tools to a cloud service across any platform and device. This deal is the next step forward for Office 365 and Dynamics as they connect to the world's largest and most valuable professional network. In essence, we can reinvent ways to make professionals more productive while at the same time reinventing selling, marketing and talent management business processes. I can't wait to see what our teams dream up when we can begin working together once the deal closes, which we expect will happen this calendar year.

A big part of this deal is accelerating LinkedIn's growth. To that end, LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand and independence, as well as their culture which is very much aligned with ours. Jeff will continue to be CEO of LinkedIn, he'll report to me and join our senior leadership team. In essence, what I've asked Jeff to do is manage LinkedIn with key performance metrics that accrue to our overall success. He'll decide from there what makes sense to integrate and what does not. We know that near term there will be no changes in who reports to whom so no reporting relationships at Microsoft will change in that regard. This approach is designed to keep the LinkedIn team focused on driving results while simultaneously partnering on product integration plans with the Office 365 and Dynamics teams. During the integration, we'll pick key projects where we can go deep together that will ultimately result in new experiences for customers. Kurt DelBene will lead the overall integration efforts at Microsoft in close partnership with Qi Lu and Scott Guthrie.

I'm on the LinkedIn campus today in California and will host a call for investors at 8:45 a.m. PT with Jeff, Brad and Amy - please join if you can. Following that, I'll then spend the day meeting with the LinkedIn team. Tomorrow, I'll host a special Microsoft employee Q&A - I hope you can make it.

So far, what I've learned about the LinkedIn team is how much our cultures share many of the same attributes. We both care deeply about individual and collective growth, and find deep meaning in the work we do to make a difference in our world. Together we'll do just that.

While I'm in northern California sharing our vision to empower professionals, the Xbox team is in southern California at E3 sharing our vision to empower gamers. I encourage you to check out the E3 press briefing, which starts at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time.Finally, if you're not on LinkedIn, join up now and start using and learning more.

Satya

Source: /microsoft-buys-linkedin

The Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) worldwide, has ended the factional crisis rocking the church for the past 27 years.

To this end, the church is to hold a three-day peace and unity prayer on Ayodele Babalola megacity, Ikotun Ile, Kwara State to pray for Nigeria and to further solidify the existing peace in the church.

In a statement made available to journalists saturday, the church praised the CAC President Worldwide, Pastor Abraham Akinosun and Prophet Gege Oju as well as another man of God, Pastor G.O. Lagunju for brokering peace between the factions.

The convener, Pastor Akinosun, revealed that the prayer will hold at the first prayer mountain between August 20 – and 22, 2017.

The statement added that what the country needed now is prayer and that the special prayer will give them opportunity for church members to pray for Nigeria’s unity for sustainable development.

“The church needs to give glory to God because we knew what we passed through when the factional crisis lasted. We need to pray for sustainable peace and unity not only in our church but Nigeria at large.

“The leaders thank God for allowing peace and unity to reign again in Church after 27 years of crisis, through the efforts of the organizer of this special prayer . We have to give glory to God that we are together again”, the church said.

Akinosun appealed to members to continue to see themselves as one, so that the efforts made in unifying the church won’t be in vain.

source:http://nigeriannewsdirect.com/cac-ends-27-years-factional-crisis-plans-3-day-unity-prayers/

With Premier League squads taking shape, we take a look at each side's No 9 entrusted with goal scoring duties this campaign.

Modern day squad numbers might not hold the gravitas that they used to - teams up and down the land no longer simply line up from one to 11 - but certain shirt numbers are still more coveted than others, with No 9 still seen as the leading marksman.

Alan Shearer, Robbie Fowler and Andy Cole are just some of the famous No 9s of Premier League seasons past - but as well as some high-profile summer signings carrying the weight of expectation, this term's No 9 club features a few players still struggling to shine in front of goal.

Who is your club's No 9 this season? Will they live up to the billing? Take a look...

Set-pieces? Counter-attacks? Aerial duels? With the help of WhoScored.com, we reveal every Premier League club's strength and weakness...


ARSENAL

Strength - Attacking down the wings

Although Alexis Sanchez played much of the previous campaign in a more central position, the Gunners were still adept when it came to hurting opponents down the flanks. A move to a back three formation will put the onus on the likes of Hector Bellerin, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and new signing Sead Kolasinac to carry the threat this season, particularly if the aforementioned Chilean were to leave.


Weakness - Stopping opponents from creating chances

Having conceded the most goals (44) and most shots per game (11.4) of any side in the top six last season, there's no secret that Arsenal's defensive issues have held them back in recent years. Kolasinac is the only defensive arrival thus far, but protection in front of the backline has often been the problem, and it's one the club haven't addressed yet.

BOURNEMOUTH

Strength - Coming back from losing positions

A crucial trait for any side hoping to stave off the drop, the ability to keep their heads when falling behind has seen Bournemouth avoid relegation comfortably in the last two seasons. Ten of their 46 points last season came from losing positions in the 2016/17 campaign.

Weakness - Protecting the lead / Defending counter attacks

One of the Cherries' main statistical weaknesses, when coupled with their strength of coming back from losing positions, is what makes them so entertaining and unpredictable. Howe's men dropped 22 points from winning positions last season - which was a joint-high - but will hope Chelsea duo Nathan Ake and Asmir Begovic can help to avoid such lapses.
A look back at some of the memorable moments from the 2016/17 Premier League season
A look back at some of the memorable moments from the 2016/17 Premier League season

BRIGHTON

Strength - Counter attacks

The Seagulls were flying high at the top of the Championship for much of the previous campaign and certainly owed a great deal to star man Anthony Knockaert, who carried a great threat on the break. Chris Hughton's men scored the most goals from counter attacking situations in the second tier (six) and will no doubt look to employ a similar tactic against the big hitters.
Anthony Knockaert was a key figure for Brighton during their promotion campaign
Anthony Knockaert was a key figure for Brighton during their promotion campaign

Weakness - Avoiding offside

There were very few flaws to Brighton's game last season, so we're knit picking to find a statistical weakness. The way that they played, however, looking to get in behind opposition defences as much as possible, saw them caught offside more times than any other team (118).

BURNLEY

Strength - Aerial duels

Having won the most aerial duels per game by a distance last season, the Clarets weren't particularly pretty but got the job done at both ends. The loss of Michael Keane - who was second only to Sam Vokes from an individual perspective in terms of aerials won (4.3 per game) - could have an impact at the back but Dyche's side will be direct once again, that's for sure.

Weakness - Keeping possession of the ball

As a consequence of their route one approach at times, Burnley would often bypass the midfield and surrender possession to their opponents. It worked well on occasion - they beat Liverpool with just 19.6 per cent possession - but it also limited their creativity. Only Sunderland and Middlesbrough created fewer chances last season.

CHELSEA

Strength - Finishing scoring chances

Boasting the best conversion rate by a distance last season (14.3 per cent), it's little wonder Chelsea ended the campaign as champions. Although top scorer Diego Costa is set to leave the club this summer, his replacement Alvaro Morata was even more clinical in front of goal last year, converting 27.3 per cent of his chances compared to Costa's 18 per cent.
Alvaro Morata has an impressive conversion rate
Alvaro Morata has an impressive conversion rate

Weakness - Aerial duels

Scraping the barrel to find a weakness for the Blues last season, they did rank bottom in the Premier League for aerial duels won per game (14.2). The arrivals of six foot-plus signings Antonio Rudiger, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Morata do add height to a relatively short squad.

CRYSTAL PALACE

Strength - Aerial duels

Second only to Burnley in terms of aerial duels won per game last season (21.9), Crystal Palace's Christian Benteke's influence on the side was strong. The Belgian won more from an individual standpoint than any other player by a country mile (8.9 per game), but will new boss Frank de Boer play to that style?

Weakness - Keeping possession of the ball

The Eagles' appointment of former Ajax manager De Boer is a real statement of intent to change their identity in the upcoming campaign. The Londoners ranked among the bottom six teams for possession and pass accuracy last season, which the Dutchman will demand isn't the case this time around. The signing of youngster Jairo Riedewald was a step in the right direction in that regard, with the versatile defender completing a whopping 92.4 per cent of his passes in the Eredivisie.

EVERTON

Strength - Creating chances using through balls

With only Chelsea and Manchester United registering more assists from through balls last season (six), the Toffees profited from the vision of a number of players, though interestingly want away Ross Barkley was not among them in that regard. The signing of Davy Klaassen, who picked up nine assists last term, will add further creativity to the midfield.
Phil Jagielka gave away three penalties last season

Weakness - Fouling in dangerous areas

With the likes of combative midfielders Idrissa Gueye, Morgan Schneiderlin and Gareth Barry in the ranks, fouls are an inevitability but Everton conceded too many in their defensive third. Only Jose Fonte conceded more penalties than Phil Jagielka (three) last season. The arrival of Michael Keane as an heir apparent to the captain could be a move to remedy that issue.

HUDDERSFIELD

Strength - Creating long shot opportunities

With 45 per cent of their shots coming from distance last season, the Terriers' shoot on sight policy was clearly not as desperate as one might immediately assume, given their shock promotion. Loan signing Aaron Mooy, who has since signed permanently from Manchester City, was key in general play but also in terms of finding space around the box, firing off 51 shots from beyond 18-yards.

Weakness - Finishing scoring chances

The fact that Huddersfield had so many efforts from range certainly attributed to what was a modest conversion rate at best, with 8.8 per cent enough to rank down in 17th. With top scorer Elias Kachunga netting just 12 goals, adding firepower has been a priority this summer, along with height in attack through newcomers Laurent Depoitre and Steve Mounie, who scored 14 for Montpellier in the previous campaign.

LEICESTER

Strength - Counter attacks

They may not have been able to exploit their greatest weapon from the 2015/16 campaign as often last time around, but Leicester are still a side very much geared up to play on the counter. Only Chelsea had more attempts on the break last season (17) - it seems that's the secret to success - and the Foxes as of yet have retained master exponents of the skill Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy.
Jamie Vardy has profited from Leicester's counter-attack play


Weakness - Defending against attacks down the wings

Having conceded the highest proportion of their total shots allowed (38 per cent) from wide positions last season, it's clear that opponents look to exploit the Foxes' defensive fragility on the flanks. Danny Simpson hasn't had any competition at right-back, and the club have only signed players to strengthen the spine of the side thus far.

LIVERPOOL

Strength - Creating chances through individual skill

With a raft of attacking talent already at their disposal, the signing of Mo Salah will certainly strengthen Liverpool's ability to bamboozle defences next season. Philippe Coutinho plays a vital role in that sense, completing more dribbles than any team-mate (70), so the Brazilian's future - he has been targeted by Barcelona - will be key to ensuring that the Reds can kick on once more under Jurgen Klopp.

Weakness - Protecting the lead

It may not have been the worst tally in the division but the fact that Liverpool surrendered 18 points from winning positions last season ensured they were never really in the title race. That was the most in the top six by some distance - Tottenham lost just five points from such situations by comparison - though defensive reinforcements have been thin on the ground to help to close out victories.

MANCHESTER CITY

Strength - Counter attacks

It may seem a surprising statistic for a Pep Guardiola side, given the importance he places on possession, but fast transitions are also key to the Spaniard. City scored the second most goals from counter attacks last season (six), with Bernardo Silva arriving to help bolster an already electrifying attack.
Man City have signed a number of defenders this summer, including Kyle Walker


Weakness - Stopping opponents from creating chances

The defensive side to City's game was the real issue last season, conceding considerably more goals than Chelsea and Spurs above them, so it's little wonder the majority of this window has been spent recruiting defensive reinforcements. Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy are likely to be the first choice full-backs next season, with Danilo also adding further competition, though the club are yet to move for a new centre-back thus far.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Strength - Stealing the ball from the opposition

Ranking among the top five teams in the league for both tackles (18.2) and interceptions (15.3) per game last season, Mourinho's men were combative and efficient from a defensive standpoint, which came as little surprise. Only Spurs (26) conceded fewer goals than United (29), while the addition of Nemanja Matic - who has won possession in the midfield third more times (506) than any other player since his Premier League return - only bolsters their ability to regain control of the ball.

Weakness - Finishing scoring chances

It's no shock that United's key weakness last season came in the final third. A conversion rate of 9.1 per cent was comfortably the worst at the top end of the table, and as low as 7.7 per cent at Old Trafford. The loss of Zlatan Ibrahimovic through injury has been allayed by the arrival of Romelu Lukaku, who has the pressure to reverse the side's fortunes in front of goal firmly on his shoulders following a £75m move.

NEWCASTLE

Strength - Attacking set pieces

The Magpies secured promotion back to the top-flight at the first time of asking, as expected, with their enviable firepower helping them return to the promised land. It wasn't just the forwards that got in on the act though, with Benitez's men scoring more goals from set pieces than any other Championship side (24).
Newcastle made the most of their set-pieces last term
Newcastle made the most of their set-pieces last term

Weakness - Avoiding individual errors

With eight of the 40 goals the club conceded last season coming as a result of individual errors, Newcastle have made a number of defensive signings to try to keep things that bit tighter this season. French centre-back Florian Lejeune represents the big money arrival to the defence, though he committed two errors leading to a goal for Eibar last season, so it remains to be seen whether the 26-year-old can help to solidify the backline.

SOUTHAMPTON

Strength - Stealing the ball from the opposition

Relative to their overall possession (53.1 per cent), one of Saints' main strengths last season was regaining the ball quickly, with Oriol Romeu the main man to thank. The Spaniard enjoyed an excellent second season on the south coast - making the third most tackles in the top-flight (117) - and will likely be a key man once more under new manager Mauricio Pellegrino.

Weakness - Finishing scoring chances

Southampton's real issue last season, and critical to Claude Puel's early exit from the hot seat, was their inability to finish their goalscoring opportunities. They ended the campaign with the worst chance conversion rate in the Premier League (7.1 per cent), with the arrival of Manolo Gabbiadini seeming to have remedied their woes before the Italian's form dipped following injury. He will need to get back to scoring ways as quickly as possible when the new season begins.

STOKE

Strength - Aerial duels

It seems an obvious thing to say when discussing Stoke, despite making changes since the departure of Tony Pulis, but the Potters still benefit from their aerial dominance. They boasted the second best success rate from duels in the league (54.6 per cent) and have signed Kurt Zouma on loan to replace Bruno Martins Indi, who was actually very weak in the air for a centre-back, winning just 47.5 per cent of his battles.
Kurt Zouma will boost Stoke's aerial strength


Weakness - Defending against long shots

With only three sides conceding more goals from outside the box than Hughes' men last season ( - accounting for 14.3 per cent of their overall goals against tally - Stoke have sold the midfielder with the second most blocks per game in the league last season in Glenn Whelan. Darren Fletcher will serve as his replacement having blocked just 0.1 shots per game to Whelan's 0.8 in the previous campaign.

SWANSEA

Strength - Attacking set pieces

Only Chelsea and West Brom scored more goals from set pieces than the Swans last season, with a total of 17 accounting for 37.8 per cent of the club's total tally. The combination of Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurdsson was pivotal, with the latter providing for the former six times - the joint-best combination in the league. The Icelandic international registered the joint most assists from dead ball situations in Europe's top five leagues (eight) - it's no wonder he is valued so highly.

Weakness - Avoiding individual errors

Key to Swansea's struggles at the bottom of the league last season was their propensity to gift the opposition chances at goal. Indeed, a total of 27 individual errors leading to a shot or goal was the most in the Premier League and while they've yet to make a signing to bolster the defence this summer, Roque Mesa had arrived from Las Palmas, with Jack Cork making way.

TOTTENHAM

Strength - Finishing scoring chances

When you boast the league's top scorer for two seasons running, Harry Kane, a strength is always going to be finishing scoring chances. Despite Vincent Janssen's struggles in north London, it's little wonder Spurs have been quiet in the transfer window, with the likes of Dele Alli, Heung-min Son and Christian Eriksen combining for 40 league goals between them to boot.
Tottenham were clinical in front of goal last season
Tottenham were clinical in front of goal last season

Weakness - Avoiding individual errors

It may come as a surprise given Tottenham boasted the league's best defence last season, though they were a little fortunate that individual errors weren't punished more often. Only Swansea committed more in total than Spurs (25), who were lucky to see the opposition spurn 18 of the chances that Mauricio Pochettino's men had presented to them.

WATFORD

Strength - Protecting the lead

There wasn't much to write home about during Walter Mazzarri's one season in charge at Watford, though the Hornets were able to close out results more so than most outside of the top seven. They surrendered a modest 12 points from winning positions, which was at least five fewer than the likes of Bournemouth, Burnley, Stoke, West Brom, Middlesbrough and Southampton.

Weakness - Avoiding fouling in dangerous areas

Watford's discipline was certainly an area of concern, committing the most fouls per game (13.6) to lead to both the most yellow (84) and red (five) cards in the Premier League. Marco Silva will hope to add a sense of composure to the side in turn, and has added the likes of Nathaniel Chalobah and Will Hughes to his ranks in an attempt to do so.

WEST BROM

Strength - Defending set pieces

Shock horror, a Tony Pulis side that is strong in both boxes from set pieces. The Baggies conceded just eight goals from such situations last season, and it's no surprise in turn that the manager hasn't been too concerned with bolstering his defence thus far, although Egyptian international Ahmed Hegazy has been signed to add strength in depth.
West Brom are one of the league's strongest at defending set pieces


Weakness - Keeping possession of the ball

With the lowest possession share in the Premier League last season, it's unlikely too much will change this time around, with no new arrivals in the midfield. Darren Fletcher has left in the meantime, so a figure of 40.7 per cent possession could yet drop further still.

WEST HAM

Strength - Attacking set pieces

A tally of 16 goals from set pieces last season was a notable return for a side that netted a relatively modest 47 in total. The Hammers have splashed the cash on attacking options in the form of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez to try and ensure that they are less reliant on such situations.

Weakness - Protecting the lead

The Londoners rarely struggled to get themselves into winning positions last season, but protecting their advantage proved a real problem. A joint-high of 22 points dropped was decisive in ensuring that boss Slaven Bilic was unable to build upon a strong debut season in charge. He'll hope the experience of former Manchester City pairing Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta will help to ensure that the mentality is greater next time around.

this is fantastic......

Etisalat Nigeria is changing its brand name to 9Mobile, TheCable has learnt.

Only a few weeks ago, a new board was appointed at Etisalat Nigeria, to handle the smooth transition of the telecommunications company after a reallocation of shares.

Boye Olusanya, former deputy managing director of Celtel Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria), was appointed as the chief executive officer of Etisalat Nigeria to over see the transition.

TheCable understands that Olusanya was appointed to oversee the transition of the company due to his experience in the smooth transition of Celtel to Airte

source:https://www.thecable.ng/breaking-etisalat-nigeria-changes-name-9mobile