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The thousands of Chelsea fans travelling to Swindon for Tuesday's Capital One Cup tie might be pleased to hear Gianfranco Zola is waiting for them.   Well, a mural of the iconic Italian at least.   His diminutive frame adorns the doors to a supporters club set up in this part of Wiltshire seven years ago for a group of west London expats and will, on the day of the match, host a knees up the scale of which has not been seen before.   Blues brothers: Pub landlord John Honeyman and 'Zola' prepare to welcome Chelsea fans to Swindon It is the first time since the Swindon branch was formed nearly two decades ago that Chelsea have been in town and landlord John Honeyman, 51, is expecting a bumper crowd.   'I think around 3,000 tickets have been sold for the Chelsea end and I would hope most of them come here first,' he told MailOnline Sport. 'It will be a good drink and sing song.'  In an annex of the Swiss Chalet pub is Zola's Bar, which houses a couple of s

Fortune may have finally smiled on member of  former Plantashun Boiz, Blackface as the dark-skinned dude has landed himself a deal worth millions of naira.                                                       Blackface, who has been having a row with Tuface over the copyright of popular song, African Queen and his not being invited for his Dubai wedding, signed a deal with Franchise Events Limited worth N52 million including a car and a house. According to Franchise Events Limited spokesperson, the company chose Blackface because of his "versatility, staying power in the music industry and his brand of music". With this deal, Blackface is sure to bounce back fully music wise and it's bye bye to poverty.

Celebrity couple, Oby Edozie and Alex O, who got controversially married sometime ago, are now proud parents of a baby boy. According to gist, after the couple wedded in 2011, Oby took in but lost the pregnancy along the line. However, the couple are happy again, as they now have their first child together. Before they eventually tied the knot, Oby who was an actress cum film producer, was accused of husband snatching by a woman who claimed she was legally married to Alex. The star actress and movie producer secretly married very popular 90′s singer Alex O at the Ikoyi Registry on Dec 16th 2011, with just a few family and friends in attendance. Oby and Alex who dated secretly for a while before getting married, perfectly kept their relationship away from prying eyes of the press. Sources say the marriage was the second for both – Oby was married and Alex O, was also formerly married to a south African woman named Fathima.

All four people charged with finding Microsoft a new CEO are men. All but two of its nine board members are men, and nearly 80 percent of its U.S. employees are male. The only two CEOs in Microsoft's history, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, have been men. Microsoft’s gender imbalance -- skewed, but standard for the technology industry -- suggests there's plenty of room for more female leaders at the top of the world's third most-valuable tech firm. So when Ballmer, Microsoft's current CEO, resigns next year, what’s the likelihood a woman might get the top job? Though industry analysts agree Microsoft should hire the most qualified candidate, regardless of gender, some argue that appointing a woman as Ballmer's successor could potentially bring

Palace Lee/PacificCoastNews.com Well, at least she didn't have a  wardrobe malfunction . Miley Cyrus  continued making the promotional rounds for her forthcoming album  Bangerz in London Wednesday morning, where she was snapped leaving her hotel in a rather, er, interesting  ensemble. (On the up side, girl was fully clothed.) The 20-year-old pop star was all smiles in a pair of rather bizarre pants, which featured one skinny leg and one wide leg in addition to sexy sheer paneling on the skinny-leg side. PHOTOS: Miley's style evolution TGB / Splash News Cyrus skipped underwear, showing off the right side of her bum, which was strategically exposed by the minimal sheer material (à la  Gwyneth Paltrow 's  Iron Man 3   premiere gown ), while keeping her left leg covered up for the conservative quarter of her outfit. The fashionista added a matching cropped vest that concealed her tummy, as well as a tiny bra top to complete her sultry all-black look. She wore

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Monday that she supports President Obama's call for a military strike on Syria and urged Congress to vote to back him. "I will continue to support his efforts, and I hope the Congress will as well," Clinton said at a White House event, after she discussed the latest developments on Syria with Mr. Obama earlier in the day. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced Monday that the Senate will hold the first congressional vote to authorize military action in Syria this Wednesday, which will be a procedural vote to begin debate. Meanwhile, while still pressing for Congress to authorize U.S. military force in Syria, Obama administration officials on Monday said they would consider Russia's new proposal for Syria to avert a U.S. military strike by placing its chemical weapons under international control and dismantling them quickly. Syria says it "welcomes" Russian proposal Democratic sena

It has been dubbed the tussle of the century, the two electronics giant wage a war as to, who will dominate the wrist of the consumer? Sony and Samsung have launched their version of the Smartwatch. Sony has unveiled its version, the SmartWatch 2. The SmartWatch 2 is attractive and tastefully designed, is water resistant and features a number of applications and watch faces. On the other hand the Samsung Galaxy Gear is no pushover and runs on a specially customized Android OS platform. The Galaxy Gear is powered by a 800MHz processor and also has a big color OLED. The device also features a speaker, mic as well as a miniature camera. Samsung Galaxy Gear However the question which is being asked is- Are these devices of any use and how do they compare against one another. The SmartWatch 2 has a flexible silicone wristband which fits snugly on the wrist. At present Sony has not unveiled any color options but can feature one in the future. The main body of the device is made

News reaching our desk from the ancient city of Osun indicates that estranged spiritual father of ace gospel sensation, Tope Alabi and General Overseer of Christ Victory Chapel International Prophet, Ireti Ajanaku is dead. The controversial cleric reportedly passed on Saturday evening in Osun State. According  a reliable member of the church, prophet Ajanaku passed on  after a brief illness in his country home in Gbongan, Osun State. The late cleric was Tope Alabi’s spiritual father until they both parted ways in early 2013 following claims of sexual harassment.

For Monday Obinnah, the 15th of June, 2013 was a day he would always remember for the rest of his life because it was a day he had a close shave with death. Today, he is still battling with the pains of an acid bath allegedly inflicted on him by a professional colleague and some hoodlums. Continue to read the full story ... Obinnah who is now in pains narrated his ordeal to Saturday Vanguard, amid sympathizers who thronged daily to console him. The middle aged man said he is an employee of an advertising firm that is based in Lagos with special attention on outdoor advertising. According to him, “I am a marketing officer and North Central supervisor of ‘Ahaa Media’ and we specialize in outdoor advertising which include the mounting of billboards across the country.”On that fateful day, I travelled to Makurdi to supervise and monitor our billboards in the town, but to my chagrin, I saw that one of our authorised billboards located on Otukpo road, close to Sev-Av Foundation Headq

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President Goodluck Jonathan has commiserated with the family of Honourable Inuwa Sule Udi, the Deputy Speaker of the Jigawa State House of Assembly, who was involved in a car accident while on his way home from Kano. Describing the death of the lawmaker as ‘very painful and untimely’ President Jonathan also condoled with the Jigawa State House Speaker, members of the Assembly and the government and people of Jigawa State, saying that Honourable Inuwa Sule Udi’s legislative experience would be solely missed, not just Jigawa state alone but the nation as whole, while still expressing his shock at the death of the lawmaker who has been in the Jigawa State House of Assembly as a third-term member. President Jonathan ended by praying that God Almighty would console members of the Udi family and grant the soul of the departed lawmaker peaceful rest.

Blessing Okagbare once again took Nigeria to the podium at the on-going IAAF World Athletics Championship in Moscow. The African record holder put up a strong fight to win the bronze medal in the women’s 200m event. Okagbare clocked 22.32 seconds to finish behind 100m champion shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica who picked the gold medal with a time of 22.17 seconds. Murielle Ahoure of Cote d’Ivoire posted a time of 22.32 seconds to clinch silver medal even though she and Okagbare crossed the finish line the same time. Meanwhile Nigeria is in for another medal haul as its 4×400 women’s relay team qualified for the final of the event. The quartet of Reginal George, Omolara Omotoso, Patience Okon and Josephine Ehihie clocked a season’s best time of 3 minutes 27.39 seconds to finish second behind Great Britain. The performance of the women quartet has raised expectations that Nigeria might pick a medal when the final takes place on Saturday.

Simon Cowell has told his pregnant lover to stay away from him. Lauren Silverman - who is expecting a child with the music mogul following a passionate affair- is eager to join the star on his Mediterranean yacht after settling her messy divorce with ex-husband Andrew Silverman earlier this week, but Simon has warned to her keep her distance until the dust has settled. A source told The Sun newspaper: ''Simon thought the divorce would take longer to finalise and he is insisting he needs time to sort out his head. ''Lauren has asked Simon to charter his private jet so she can join him but he is making excuses and just doesn't know what to do.'' Simon's former pal, Andrew - who filed for divorce four weeks ago after discovering Lauren was pregnant - listed 'The X Factor' boss as the co-respondent in the legal documents, as well as alleging adultery and ''cruel and inhuman treatment'' as the reasons behind his marriage f

Nigeria's superwoman, meet Jamaica's superman. Triple threat Blessing Okagbare, here to compete in the long jump, 100 and 200 metres, is drawing favourable comparisons to sprint sensation Usain Bolt at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics (WCA). She likes it. "A lot of people have been, maybe, saying that," Okagbare said, laughing on August 15. "If they say that, then it's an honour. "Usain Bolt is a great athlete, an extremely talented athlete, and for some people to say you actually have, maybe you're even close to the talent he has, is a great honour for me." Like Bolt, Okagbare carries an impressive physical frame when compared to most of her competitors - 5' 11" tall and weighing 150 pounds. Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, gold medallist in the 100 metres here, is listed at 5' 0", 110 pounds. Bolt competes in multiple events as well - the 100m and 200m - and has toyed with the idea of doing t

Boko Haram’s brutal Islamist insurgency has stalled Nigeria’s development, inflamed ethnic tensions and raised concern among its neighbours, a senior US diplomat said Thursday before bilateral security talks. Wendy Sherman, US under-secretary of state for political affairs, said the United States was ready to help Nigeria “develop a multi-faceted strategy” to contain the violence, but warned that a military crackdown alone would not work. The Boko Haram conflict has “increased tensions between various ethnic communities, interrupted development activities, frightened off investors and generated concerns among Nigeria’s northern neighbours,” Sherman said. The extremist group has said it is fighting to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria and has carried out waves of attacks across the region. Some of the violence has occurred along the northern borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger amid fears that Boko Haram fighters could spill into neighbouring states. The Islamist

THE Abia state police Command said that it is working hard to find out who beheaded a 17 year old girl in her parents’ farm in Ukome community Umuahia North Council Ares of Abia state The girl, Chioma Emeka Ikwuagwu, was until her brutal killing an SSS 3 student of Holy Rosary College in Umuahia and hailed from Ameke Ibuku in Umuahia North Council Area. She was killed on the 26th of July in her father’s farm in Ukome a neigbouring community and her head severed off but was not taken away. Also, police sources said that no part of Chioma’s body was removed thereby ruling out any link to ritual killing. Following her brutal killing, Ameke community was said to have issued an ultimatum to their Ukome neighbours, urging to say what happened to their daughter or face their wrath. The ultimatum has since expired. According to sources, Chioma, the first amongst five children, two boys and four girls, was until her tragic death lived in Ukome with her father’s relations. According

The heavily rumoured Apple iPhone 5C is set to be released in a range of different colours with a new video showing a yellow rear shell that will reportedly adorn the back of the device. Sonny Dickson’s new high-quality video shows a yellow rear shell that purportedly comes from an iPhone 5C that is to be unveiled at an Apple media event next month. The video compares the device to other iPhone models that have been released over the years and shows it has rounded corners and is similar in dimensions to the iPhone 5. The back is made from plastic and this reflects the fact that it will be a cheaper version of the aluminium-backed iPhone 5. Dickson has released other picture sets in recent weeks that have seen various colour-ways that will also be available and reflect the fact the C stands for “Colour”. The earlier pictures suggest that green, white, red and blue devices will sit alongside the yellow one shown in the latest video. It’s widely expected that the new device w

Boko Haram members | credits: File copy A key member of the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, Momogu Bama,  has been killed by  the Joint Task Force in Borno State. He met his death the same day with his  father,   Alhaji Abatcha Flatari, described as one of the spiritual leaders of the sect  in an operation  between the sect members and the JTF operatives in Bama. Momogu,  the second-in-command to the sect’s leader, Abubakar Shekau,  had a  N25m  bounty put on his head by security agencies for information that could lead to his arrest. The Director of Defence Information, Brig.- Gen Chris Olukolade, who confirmed his killing, described him as a vicious Boko Haram leader who took delight in personally slaughtering  the sect’s victims. He added that  Momogu  was the expert  in charge of  mounting  anti-aircraft weapons for  the sect and coordinating  members  in Yobe and Adamawa  states. Olukolade said in an electronic mail on Wednesday to one of our correspondents th

Salaudeen Tempers ran high at the Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court on Wednesay as a 37-year-old developer, Ishola Salaudeen, was arraigned for allegedly duping 106 people of millions of naira. An angry mob assaulted a friend of the defendant shortly after the matter was adjourned. They claimed he was part of their travails. He was, however, rescued by security guards. Salaudeen, who was arraigned on 211 counts of receiving money under false pretences and stealing, was said to have collected sums ranging from N180,000 to N1m for a property from the complainants, many of whom paid into his bank account. The incident was said to have occurred in April 2013 at Oriola Street in the Ketu area of Lagos. It was said that the expectant tenants later converged on the said house on the instruction of Saludeen, waiting to take possession of their apartments. They were shocked to discover that the rooms had been taken by some other people. It took over an hour before the two registrars c

The protesters. Hundreds of women on Wednesday stormed the streets of Abeokuta, Ogun State, to protest against the recent Senate resolution on child marriage. The protesting women carried placards bearing various inscriptions such as ‘Give us education, not marriage,’ ‘Child marriage is barbaric,’ ‘Woe to husbands of underage,’ and ‘Ogun children reject child marriage.’ The women protesters carried out their action under the aegis of the Concerned Women Forum, which is made up of women groups, market women and men, religious groups, as well as civil society groups. Addressing newsmen during the protest at the Iwe Iroyin House, Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta, secretariat of the Ogun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Iyalode of Egbaland, Chief Alaba Lawson, condemned the passing of the resolution on early marriage by the lawmakers. Lawson wondered why the lawmakers should make such an issue their focus when there were other more important matters that required their