Alamieyeseigha Pardon: Bill Gates cancels visit to Nigeria

United States richest man and philanthropist, Bill Gates, has cancelled his planned official visit to Nigeria scheduled for March 27. His action was believed was part of an unfolding diplomatic row between the US and Nigeria following the controversial pardon granted by President Goodluck Jonathan to ex-convicts Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and Shettima Bulama.

He was scheduled to  meet President Goodluck Jonathan, state governors and officials of the Federal Ministry of Health on the polio eradication campaign of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Diplomatic sources said the trip was cancelled, two days after the US government expressed disappointment with the Federal Government for pardoning convicted money launderers.

Gates was reported to have already instructed his staff to inform the Nigerian Presidency, the secretariat of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Federal Ministry of Health that he was no longer coming. “The State Department has advised him that Nigeria is not conducive for such visit at this time,” a source said.  “We hope that the Nigerian government will get the message and return to the path of sanity.”

“We see this as a setback for the fight against corruption, and also for our ability to play the strong role we’ve played in supporting the rule of law and legal institution-building in Nigeria, which is very important for the future of the country obviously,” State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, had told reporters in Washington.

Gate is the biggest foreign supporter of the campaign to eradicate polio in Nigeria and has worked consistently with the Nigerian authorities since 2009 over the matter. His foundation has developed a six-year strategy through 2018 that will help combat polio in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan and has set aside $1bn per annum for the purpose.

He had scheduled this March’s visit to consolidate on that alliance, meet with Jonathan, state governors and other stakeholders with a view to generally revving  up the war against the pandemic.

Via Punch

Barca to face PSG in Champions League Quarter Finals

Bitter Spanish rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid have been kept apart in the draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. 

Barcelona will be reunited with their former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic after being paired against the Swede's current club, Paris Saint-Germain, while Real take on Turkish side Galatasaray. That game will see another reunion as Real coach Jose Mourinho works out how to stop Didier Drogba, the forward who scored so many important goals for him at Chelsea.

Bayern Munich, last season's beaten finalists, will play Italian champions Juventus, while Malaga, in their first Champions League campaign, are pitted against German champions Borussia Dortmund. Juventus are unbeaten in this season's Champions League, as are Dortmund.

In a departure from the convention of previous seasons, the draw for the semi-finals was not made at the same time and will take place next month. Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is aiming to become the first coach ever to win the Champions League with three different clubs, having lifted the trophy with both Porto and Inter Milan.

Via ESPN

Samsung Galaxy S4 Official: 5-inch 1080p display, Octa-core Exynos Chip and 13MP Camera

Another year, another Galaxy S flagship smartphone from Samsung. 2013's version of the crown jewel, the Galaxy S4, has just been officially announced at its Unpacked event. The GS 4 features a 5-inch 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) Super AMOLED panel which offers a pixel density of 441 ppi and the ability to use your gloves at the same time. It's also a powerful beast: it packs 2GB RAM and will come with either a 1.6GHz Exynos Octa-core chip or a 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm, depending on your region. Refreshingly, it will also come with Android 4.2.2 on-board when it launches.

Dimension-wise, the GS 4 is 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inch) and weighs 130g (4.59 ounces). The chassis itself is actually 0.8mm skinnier, 0.7mm thinner and 3g lighter than its predecessor, which is impressive given its larger screen size and 2,600mAh battery. It will launch in black and white hues, though Samsung plans to add more colors to its lineup as the year progresses. 

Moving on to the imaging details, the GS 4 sports a 13MP BSI camera with f/2.2 aperture and autofocus, while the front-facing camera gets a slight bump in res to 2MP. Samsung claims that neither camera features any shutter lag, so we'll be eager to test it out. But some of the most intriguing aspects of the camera are the new features: dual-video capture mode, which lets you record video on both cameras simultaneously (much like on the LG Optimus G Pro), and Dual Video Call mode, in which you can make video calls and show the caller what you're looking at. Additionally, Drama Shot utilizes burst mode to create animated GIFs, while Sound & Shot can record up to nine seconds of audio to accompany a still photo.

The GS 4 will also take advantage of the same "Smart" gesture features we saw on the GS 3, and gives you a few more to enjoy. Smart Pause stops the video you're watching if your eyes drift away. Smart Scroll will move the screen up or down when you tilt the phone and look at the screen at the same time. Air View lets you use your finger as an S Pen by giving you a preview of an email, calendar appointment, image gallery or video just by hovering your finger over it. There's also a Group Play feature that connects networks of GS 4 devices (provided they're in close proximity) to share music in a surround-sound mode or play games against each other.

No pricing has been set, and we've been told that the phone will be released globally starting at the end of April.

Via Engadget

BlackBerry Says Customer Has Ordered 1 Million Phones

BlackBerry (BBRY), the Canadian smartphone maker that rolled out a new lineup in January, said one of its “established partners” is buying 1 million BlackBerry 10 phones, the biggest order in the company’s history.

“An order for 1 million devices is a tremendous vote of confidence in BlackBerry 10,” Rick Costanzo, executive vice president of global sales for the Waterloo, Ontario-based company, said yesterday in a statement. “Consumers are ready for a new user experience, and BlackBerry 10 delivers. With strong partner support, coupled with this truly re-invented new platform, we have a powerful recipe for success.”

Krista Seggewiss, a spokeswoman for BlackBerry (BBRY), declined to say who the buyer was or define what the company meant by an “established partner.” BlackBerry works with corporate customers and government agencies, as well as all of the largest carriers in the U.S., its biggest single market.

BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion Ltd. (BB), unveiled the BB10 lineup in January. The new phones, which run a redesigned operating system, are the linchpin of its comeback strategy. After pioneering the smartphone market, the company’s global share slipped to single digits in recent years amid competition from Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Google Inc.’s Android.

Via Bloomberg

Barcelona knocked off top spot in World Club Ranking

Barcelona have been knocked off the top of the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) Club World Ranking after a poor run of results. But to many people's surprise it isn't Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, or even Manchester United who have displaced them.

No, the current table toppers in the IFFHS Club World Ranking are Chelsea. That's right, that Stamford Bridge club that seemingly stumbles from crisis to crisis like a drunk from bar to bar - the club whose manager last week went into meltdown, whose owner is reportedly a crazed megalomanic, and whose players include the £50m striker who doesn't score goals and the club legend who can't earn himself a new deal.

The Blues sit fourth in the Premier League, and face a scrap to qualify for next year's Champions League - a competition they've already exited. A section of the fans are in open revolt at the manager when really the blame should be pointed at the board and/or owner. And the club's favourite son, Frank Lampard, looks set to leave the club on a free transfer, probably a week or two after becoming Chelsea's all-time top scorer. Strange times at Stamford Bridge, but then again, that's nothing new.

So, here is the IFFHS top ten...

IFFHS Club World Ranking - Top 10

1. Chelsea | England | 307 points

2. Atletico Madrid | Spain | 304

3. Bayern Munich | Germany | 292

4. Corinthians | Brazil | 287

5. Barcelona | Spain | 283

6. Boca Juniors | Argentina | 281

7. Real Madrid | Spain | 277

8. Juventus |Italy | 241

9. Inter Milan | Italy | 234

10. Sao Paulo | Brazil | 230

Via GiveMeFootball

UEFA backs Old Trafford referee

UEFA has defended referee Cuneyt Cakir after the Turkish official faced heavy criticism for sending off Nani during Manchester United's Champions League defeat to Real Madrid. European football's governing body said it had "no problem" with Cakir and stressed that he would remain on its list of Champions League officials.

A spokesman said: "There are no issues for us regarding the sending off, and we will wait for the official reports of the match delegate and the referee's observer, as is procedure. "If they raise concerns, then we will act - but he remains on our list of officials."

Nani was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Alvaro Arbeloa with United 1-0 up shortly before the hour mark. Goals from Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo then turned matters in the Spanish club's favour, and United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was said to have been "distraught" about the dismissal of his Portuguese winger.

Cakir, 36, is reported to have received death threats from United supporters in the hours after the final whistle. UEFA said Nani would receive an automatic one-match European suspension, with United able to appeal after the disciplinary panel - which could increase that ban - has discussed the issue.

Meanwhile, police in Nottinghamshire have warned people not to waste their time after a United fan called 999 to vent his disgust at Nani's red card. The 18-year-old fan later apologised for his actions, but the county's control room chief inspector Ted Antill said in a statement released by the force: "While this recent example may be amusing, it illustrates the sort of insincere calls we have to deal with on a daily basis in the control room. "They waste our time and they direct us away from genuine victims of crime, particularly if we dispatch officers out to something that turns out to be a bogus report."

Via ESPN

Missing toddlers found dead after 39 days

Two  toddlers in Ketu, Lagos State, who were declared missing on January 25, 2013 have been found dead in an abandoned vehicle on the premises of a building next to theirs on Taike Street. The family as well as the police had  suspected that  they were  kidnapped before the  discovery of their remains on Monday.

We learnt that the vehicle in which the children were found was a  Honda Pilot Sports Utility Vehicle, which was used as collateral. According to a police theory, the children went into the vehicle but were trapped inside, causing them to suffocate.

The Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Ngozi Braide, said the corpses were discovered by bank officials, who had gone to redeem the vehicle. She said, “On Monday, at about 4:30pm, one Phillip Odi in company  with  Julius Odetola, both of whom are employees of Berachah Microfinance Bank, reported that on the same day, they received a text message from Macdonabi Jones Enterprise Limited, a customer of the bank, who pledged his Honda Pilot as collateral.

The bank employees said on reaching the house located at 20 Taike Street, where the vehicle was parked, they discovered the corpses of the two children. The tragic news, however, did not go down well with residents of the street as they alleged foul play. The occupants of the house where the corpses were found had fled for fear of being attacked.

Via Punch