Sports: Arsenal Offered £30m Deal For Mario Balotelli

Arsenal are believed to have been offered the chance to buy Mario Balotelli this summer with AC Milan keen to offload the erratic striker.

The Italian giants are planning a squad overhaul during the transfer window, but need to raise funds in order to bring in fresh faces and Balotelli appears to be surplus to requirements at the San Siro.

Milan are said to want around £30m for the Italian international, with QPR’s Adel Taarabt among the players the club want to bring in.

Big-spending French side Monaco are believed to be the current favourites to land Balotelli, but he has also been offered to Arsenal, among other English sides, in a bid to drive the price up.

The former Manchester City man scored 18 goals in 40 appearances for club and country last season, but Milan are thought to have become frustrated with his erratic behaviour, which was also a source of frustration for Roberto Mancini at the Etihad Stadium.

I impregnated my wife nine times because of President Mugabe, says politician

MDC-T politician Job Sikhala and his wife had nine kids in ten years, because he was afraid of becoming infertile after torturers targeted his genitals in 2003.

According to myzimbabwe.co.zw, Sikhala, 42, his lawyer Gabriel Sumba and three others were arrested in January 2003 for allegedly “training a Red Army” to topple President Mugabe.

While in custody they went through torture which allegedly involved applying electric shock on their private parts. At the time, Sikhala only had one child.

He says that he had to quickly churn out offspring because he thought that he may soon lose his fertility, as happened to his fellow torture victims.

“I am a family man. I am married with my beautiful five daughters and my handsome five sons. And you know it was forced by (President) Mugabe’s torture. After l was tortured, l went to South Africa and Denmark for treatment and some of my colleagues who were tortured with me are not even able to produce children by now on the basis of that torture.”

“So when l was able to do that, l said ‘no, Mugabe will kill me without any children’. By the time l was tortured, l only had one kid in 2003 and you can see that in 10 years, l raised for myself to have kids before Mugabe kills me…” Sikhala said.

TMZ Report: Chris Brown Has Been Released

TMZ is reporting that Chris Brown has been released from jail after being locked up for 59 days. He was reportedly released around midnight yesterday. Chris was sentenced to a year in jail on May 9th but got credit for the 116 days he spent in Rehab. He still has his D.C case to answer. 

Godwin Emefiele's Assumes Duties As CBN Governor While Sanusi's Still Pending In Court

President Goodluck Jonathan submitted Emefiele’s candidacy to the Senate for confirmation on February 20, the same day he suspended Sanusi over allegations of the 'financial recklessness and gross misconduct' of the CBN. The Senate confirmed Emefiele's appointment on March 26.

Sanusi rejected the accusation insisting he was removed for highlighting alleged widespread corruption in the oil and gas sector, and appealed his suspension in court. Last week his lawsuit was transferred to another court.

Until last Friday, Emefiele was the Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, a position he held for about four years.

Analysts believed that ex-governor Sanusi has left behind a strong legacy of excellent economic management. The new governor’s primary objective will be to preserve the gains in price and exchange rate stability and, therefore, maintain the previous regime’s tightening stance.

Many experts also believe that the new governor will move the CBN to the next level going by his track record as an achiever at the Zenith Bank Plc.

However, Emefiele will soon have to face the challenged that a pre-election and election years normally bring. Extra-budgetary spending arising from electioneering expenses will most certainly lead to excess cash in circulation and this will ultimately cause inflation and put pressure on the naira, while myriads of other monetary challenges that will pose threats to the economy will come forth.

Unemployment, especially among young people, is another problem that Emefiele is expected to solve.

"My message to him [Emefiele] is that he should stop focusing on financial variables and financial markets. CBN should broaden its view to focus on the economy. It should focus on real economic growth, spending growth and household spending and consumption," Dr. Ayo Teriba, the CEO of Economic Associates, a Lagos economic consultancy, told This Day. "A situation where the CBN just focuses on inflation and exchange rate when unem­ployment level has doubled, will leave Nigeria as the loser," he added.

An economic analyst and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, noted that although the macroeconomic environment had been relatively stable "the conflicting trends of core and headline inflation since January 2014 will have to be put in perspective." He also expressed concerns over "the eroding fiscal buffers".
READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/67407.html

READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/67407.html

Over 40 Football Fans Feared Dead At Mubi Explosion, While Two Suspects are Arrested

The explosion happened yesterday, June 1, at a popular relaxation centre, Kabang, usually visited by both civilians and military patrons. For now, at least 14 people have been confirmed dead and over 40 may have lost their lives too.

Adamawa Police Command as well as the 23rd Armoured Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Yola, confirmed the bomb blast. And the Command’s spokesman, Mallam Othman Abubakar, reported that the explosion happened at about 6 p.m. It has not been determined whether the victims were soldiers or civilians.

Meanwhile, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, Director, Defence Information, stated that two suspects had been arrested in connection with the blast. However, one of them later died in the hospital following an injury he sustained during the attack.

“There has been a bomb explosion at a football field this evening (yesterday) and so far more than 40 people have been killed,” said the officer who requested anonymity, in Mubi, which has seen previous attacks by Boko Haram insurgents.

The wounded have been evacuated and are receiving treatment at the Mubi Cottage Hospital, Mubi, he said.

The facility is not far away from the headquarters of the Special Operations Battalion (SOB) of the Nigerian army in Mubi. It is worth noting that the Battalion is involved in the Nigerian government’s counter-offensive against Boko Haram’s attacks.