Abrantie:




This is the first picture of Pia Balotelli, the new baby daughter of firebrand Manchester City striker Mario.

The little girl was born earlier this month to his ex-girlfriend Raffaella Fico, 27, and arrived three weeks early - she had been due on Christmas Day.

Balotelli has yet to see his daughter in the flesh and and is said to have only seen pictures of her via email.

In her first interview since giving birth Raffaella lashed out at the player for failing to act as a proper father.

In an interview with glossy Italian weekly Chi, Raffaella posed for several pictures with Pia, as well as her mother and brother Francesco, after securing a five figure deal with the magazine.

Chi is the same publication that printed pictures of a topless Duchess of Cambridge in the summer which were taken while she was on holiday in France with Prince William.

Furious Raffaella stormed: 'Mario for me is irresponsible. It came to a certain point where he was just not interested in anything, not in me or our daughter.

'Up until certain things happened he was supposed to marry me. That was our project, our desire.

'Then all of a sudden everything collapsed and I don't know why.'

Raffaella and Balotelli were an item for almost a year but split up in March after she flew to Manchester to confront him over a series of alleged affairs - the bust up was so furious that police had to be called to his Cheshire home.

Then in June during the European Championships, Raffaella contacted Balotelli to tell him she was pregnant with their child but initially he refused to accept it was his and demanded a DNA test.

Devastated Raffaella then hit back and said she had no fear of taking the test and her family rallied round her as it emerged she had also been contacted and urged to have an abortion - something the deeply religious underwear model ruled out completely.

Two months ago things appeared to be back on track when Balotelli issued a statement saying he was dropping the DNA requirement and that he would be 'trying again' with Raffaella and the two were pictured kissing on the balcony of home in Naples.

But despite his promise it quickly became clear he had no intention of doing the honourable thing as Raffaella confirmed that after he left her in Naples he failed to contact her in the following weeks.

Raffaella, who appeared on Italy's version of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, described he moment she went into labour and rushed to the clinic.

'I sent Mario a text message at 3pm when the first contractions started and then again at 6.30pm when I went into the delivery room. I sent him another as soon as I came out and Pia had been born.

'But he only bothered to get in touch at half past midnight when my phone rang.

'I said to him "Mario, I've given birth" and he just said "Ah OK, I'm not bothered" and he then put the phone down. I've not heard from him since.'

'Mario's not even bothered about seeing his daughter - even if he doesn't want me to take a DNA test anymore I will do. I will make the results public so everyone knows Pia is Mario Balotelli's daughter.'

When asked if Balotelli had offered financial help Raffaella said: 'I have not had any economic help from Mr Balotelli.

'He is worth more than da Vinci's Mona Lisa but for his own daughter he hasn't flashed a penny. I have not even had a call asking if I needed anything. I don't need him or his money.'

However when asked what she would do if Balotelli did get in touch, Raffaela said: 'The door for his daughter is always open. The door of my heart is closed forever.

'I think when he came back to Naples a couple of months ago to see me that was just a PR exercise.

'Things then were not going well for him on and off the field.

'He doesn't have any paternal instincts. He is not even curious about his own daughter.'

Raffaella, whose previous boyfriends have included Cristiano Ronaldo, named her daughter after a mystical monk called Padre Pio who was famous for having bleeding wounds in his hands and feet exactly where Christ had them.

During the summer she made a pilgrimage to his shrine near Foggia where she was photographed in prayer in front of his statue with her mother and brother.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2250154/Mario-Balotelli-Newborn-daughter-football-superstar-met-father.html

rodeo0070: The Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation Initiatives, Josephine Washma, has hinted that the Federal Government intends to conduct a census of unemployed persons in the country early next year. Washma, who spoke to Daily Sun at an end of year dinner party, organized by the management of Premier Petroleum Company Limited, in Abuja, said the new survey, which will be carried out nationwide, will form the basis for the implementation of job creation initiatives of government.

“We are embarking on a new unemployment survey, in conjunction with the National Bureau of Statistics, to update the existing data base. We believe that NBS already has the structures to ensure a successful survey,” she said. According to the Special Assistant, the issue of unemployment cannot be properly addressed without a reliable data base, adding that proper job planning requires the knowledge of the number of the unemployed.

“So until we know how many persons are unemployed, how many are skilled, the number that are unskilled and how many of them can be given training upgrade to improve their performance. “What has been done before was a general survey but we want to segment that do as to enable us to direct efforts at those areas that are of critical importance,” she added.

Speaking on the renewed effort by government to tackle unemployment crisis in the country, Washma said President Jonathan has set up a standing Committee on Job Creation to chaired by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Nwogu. She said the committee which is to be inaugurated soon will drive the President’s intervention initiatives aimed at addressing joblessness among the youths in country. She said there will be a job creation musical show coming up early next year in conjunction with local and foreign entrepreneurs.

“It is something we should all look up to and give a chance to see how it tries to solve the unemployment problem in the country and by extension the issue of insecurity, ” she said. The Presidential aide said the committee will try in the interim to build on the unemployment data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and to move on to conduct unemployment surveys. She said NBS is also a member of the committee.

“There are various employment generation programmes being ran by government agencies but what we we need to do is to reassess such initiatives and to see if they actually, adding value or need to be restructured in certain ways to fit into the present expectations,” she said. “Let me say that the issue of unemployment has also to do with unemployable, that is the fact that a lot of our school leavers do not possess the require skills to attract employers of labour.

Their were CVs that I could not present even to traders in the market. So we are engaging on consultants that will help train these school leavers on how to prepare a resume because resume is the first step to securing a job. It is your marketing/selling point because the applicant might not be physically present when his application is being discussed, ” she said

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/business/fg-to-conduct-census-of-jobless-nigerians-in-2013/

mitchyy: GISTville


Popular Nigerian Model Barbara Juliano has seen it all in the modelling world. Yes, indeed. She walks with a gait that promptly tells you she was born to be a model.

She is about six feet tall, slim but fleshy in the right places and possesses that unusual look of models.

In a recent interview, she talks about how it all started, her education, life as a model and her shoe company.

She reveals: “I started modelling in Paris at 17 while on holidays with a close friend. I was still in school then. He was a model and I used to accompany him to modelling agencies for casting.

I gradually joined in the model castings, did a few commercials on a part time basis and before I knew it, by 18, I was already a full time model. I did more jobs abroad than in Nigeria, modelling in London, Paris and Italy.

“I featured in quite a number of television commercials, editorial and magazine shoots for several high end products like Olay, Diesel jeans, Dolce and Gabbana, Lux etc. After giving in my all to modelling for 15 years, I gradually began my slow descent. This I did from 2005 through 2008 when I finally stopped. Then, I faced my shoe business.”

Explaining her decision for venturing into the retail of high end shoes, Barbara who runs Rose Barbara, a shoe company in Lagos, says it was borne out of a passion. Moreover, she considers modelling to go hand-in-hand with the art of wearing accessories.

“I believe that there is no modelling without shoes. No model goes on the runway barefooted. Their feet are always encased most times in stilettos which help to give one the needed gait. Oftentimes, the shoes are an advertisement on their own. So, I didn’t just start selling shoes, I became a personal shopper because people trusted my judgment on items that I picked out for them. That was after I stopped modelling.

“I am very particular about what I retail, I can tell the history of each pair of designer shoes that I retail. The modelling world really helped me to have a better understanding of what shoes are all about. My love for shoes knows no bounds. I collect shoes and I personally have a minimum of 200 pairs! That is how bad my obsession for shoes is. My husband sees my interest in the shoe business as an opportunity to acquire more pairs for myself and I don’t think he is far from the truth.”

Aside the shoe business, she has since diversified into luxurious hair retailing and also runs an African restaurant in London.

Born 37 years ago, Juliano who hails from Ikong, Cross River State, recalls her growing up years was fun filled especially as it spanned three cities— Cross Rivers State, Paris and Italy.

“Memories of my days in Cross Rivers State, especially during the holidays are so deeply etched that I sometimes crave for them. We would go to Obudu cattle ranch to have fun; horse riding, mountain climbing, and watch the water falls etc. My parents are avid believers in fun filled holidays.”

Turning out to be a success at her numerous ventures didn’t come to her on a platter of gold as she did have her trying period in her early days as a model.

“I dropped out from the University of Calabar, where I had enrolled to study Sociology. That was two years to my graduating year. I wanted to face my modelling career squarely,” she reminisces.

But with a father, who is a medical doctor and a mother who is an English graduate from Oxford University, didn’t she face stiff opposition at home?

She replies: “Nigeria is one country with people who are very particular about paper qualifications. Naturally, there was an outcry when I took that decision. My parents were to say the least, miffed at my action. I was strongly opposed but I was hell bent on pursuing a modelling career because that was what I loved and wanted to do at that time.

“I did all I could to assuage their feelings by constantly showing them my finished works. I wanted to prove that I had retained my decency while still modelling. But they had their beliefs and concluded that I was fooling around. It took a while before they finally came around to give me their blessings. I am persuaded that modelling is innate because even as a little child, the traits were very evident in me. I sometimes wonder where I got the passion for modelling from considering my background. My other family members are known for being quite cerebral. Ironically, my younger sister is now toeing my path.”

Now, she is in her parents’ shoes and feels what they felt many years back. Now, older and wiser, she constantly insists that her younger sister completes her education even as she (Barbara) also plans to complete her education.

“I have to, it isn’t like I need it right away but I will definitely. I believe I owe it to myself. When I decide to, it will be in a streamlined course in luxury management since that is my area of core competence,” she explains.

Barbara would tell you she prefers white men whenever issues of romance are raised.

“I prefer white men because I think they are more loving and respectful to women. I was once married to a French man for eight years but it didn’t work out. Now, I am married to the love of my life— an Italian. I have been with my husband for four years but we have been married for two years with a daughter. We met in Milan, Italy. He is a very understanding and humble person and I consider myself a very lucky woman to have him as a husband.”

Asked if she has any plan to give back to society through mentorship, Barbara quips that is no longer on her plate. At least currently but could be considered in the near future.

“I once imparted knowledge from my wealth of experience to young up and coming models while I was still a model and even set up an academy called, Amazon Modelling Academy. I shut down when I stopped modelling,” she says.

Models are considered stylish. Not far from one, she defines her style as unique but corrects that, “I will never be caught dead in a mini skirt or dress!”

She is a designer freak too. Hear her collection: “For shoes, I currently love Zannoti, Valentino and Cavalli. I am not very particular about the designers of the dresses I wear, as long as they are beautiful dresses.

For bags, it is Channel and Birkins. Oh! I love bags too and I have lost count of the regular bags that I have. I do have about 14 high end bags like Hermes Birkins, Channels etc. In fact, I once spent €68,000 for a hand bag. After shoes, my fashion fetish is bags.”

Her life’s philosophy is simple: Respect for people and loyalty. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t have friends having gone through some disappointments in life with friends”, she concludes.

Source: http://gistville.com/2012/12/i-once-spent-n14million-on-a-handbag-nigerian-model-barbara-juliano/