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The athletes are demanding the same recognition as given to their able-bodied counterparts. Nigeria finished 22nd with a total of 13 medals – 6 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze at the Paralympic games. Their counterparts did not win any medal at the London Olympics. ‘ In our country, nobody regards us as anybody, nobody regards us as the specials, there is no budget for us. But in other countries when they are doing anything, their first consider the physically challenged people, the old ones but in this country there’s nothing like that ‘, Gold medalist in the Women’s +82.50 kg Powerlifting category, Gloria Anozie explained to Channels TV. ‘So we found that if you don’t wake up, fight for yourself, do something better for yourself, you are not going anywhere, so we motivate ourselves to do what we are doing’, she further explained.   By Osagie Alonge

The Democrats were no sooner out of Charlotte when the bad economic news came. A more disappointing job report than had been forecast. Economic numbers weaker than expected. Just 96,000 jobs were created in August, far fewer than what economists were anticipating. And even a lower unemployment rate — down to 8.1 percent from 8.3 — was explained as that more people had simply stopped looking for work. The hope of four years ago is quickly becoming a fading memory, especially for those whose lives have not seen the change Barack Obama once promised. Reality often can get in the way of a celebration, and that may be how we define the convention bounce of 2012. All the emotion and enthusiasm and memorable speeches of Charlotte have indeed resulted in a "bounce" for the president and his party. But how long does it last? Maybe a little trip down memory lane is in order.  by Ken Rudin

Serena Williams showed incredible resolve to outlast Victoria Azarenka and secure her fourth US Open title. The 30-year-old lifted her 15th Grand Slam singles crown - and fourth in New York - with a 6-2 2-6 7-5 win in 138 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium. World number one Azarenka served for the match, but Williams broke in a run of four ruthless games to triumph. She became the first player aged over 30 to win the US Open women's singles since Martina Navratilova in 1987. "I honestly can't believe I won," said the American. "I was preparing my runner-up speech because she was playing so great." Azarenka wept into a towel at the end as her dream of becoming the first Belarusian to win the US Open ended in agonising fashion "It's tough but Serena deserves to win," said the 23-year-old. "She showed what a true champion she is. "I'm honoured to stand with such a true champion here. I definitely gave it my all today, stepping ...

   President Barack Obama called the last month's jobs report, which showed weak growth and over 350,000 people dropping out of the workforce, "not good enough" at a rally on Friday, meanwhile mocking Republicans' tax proposals and asking for another four years to accomplish his proposals. The unemployment rate fell in August from 8.3% to 8.1%, according to the Labor Department report issued Friday, but that slip was fueled by 368,000 people dropping out of the workforce.  The 96,000 jobs added is far below the generally accepted 150,000 needed to simply keep up with population growth, and Obama said that "there is a lot more that we can do." "We need to create more jobs faster. We need to fill the hole left by this recession faster. We need to come out of this crisis stronger than when we went in," Obama told voters in Plymouth, New Hampshire. "When Congress gets back to town next week," he continued, ...

GLOBAL phone manufacturer, Nokia, has launched in Nigeria, a revolutionary device that will push the frontiers of mobile device functionality to a new level. The Nokia 808 PureView with a never-before-seen 41mega pixel lens is set to give consumers an exciting new experience when it comes to digital photography on a mobile phone. Celebrity photographer, Kelechi Amadi-Obi described the device as “a photographer’s delight.” In a photo presentation delivered by him at the launch event, he stated that the Nokia 808 PureView is a combination of a high quality optic with incredible Image censor coupled with professional image control in your pocket. He also showcased an array of amazing photographs taken by the new phone. Speaking at the launch event, the General Manager, Nokia-West Africa, Mr. Chris Brown said the Nokia 808 boasts of the highest resolution sensor of any mobile phone camera in the history of mobile devices. He said: “The device has the highest resolution...

Nigel de Jong and Vincent Kompany set the tone, thundering into Ramires and Fernando Torres within the first quarter of an hour. Stefan Savic wasn't as precise, picking up a booking for a late challenge on Eden Hazard, but it exemplified the attitude Roberto Mancini had instilled in his team over the summer break. They were half a yard quicker, an extra per cent more intense and tackled that bit harder. In truth, the final score of 3-2 flattered Chelsea. It might be a team of familiar faces, but City look thoroughly prepared for what will undoubtedly be a far tougher season than the one they have just emerged from. Their rivals have strengthened – Arsenal suddenly look potential dark horses for the title, Chelsea have a wealth of attacking options and Manchester United have reinforced as well. But despite Mancini's open criticism of Brian Marwood and the lack of transfer activity at the club this summer, they dismantled Chelsea to claim the first silverware of the season on...

You have got to hand it to Prezzo for being a snake in the grass. First he put his woman, Goldie, up for eviction, but then when they both survived, he went back to her like nothing happened. The poor girl thinks he is deeply in love with her. You can’t blame her, because when Alex told her that she looked better without the ridiculous eyelashes, she ran off to tell Prezzo, who was quick to bite Alex’s head off. He even went on to bar Alex from speaking to her again. When it came out that Keagan was talking about Prezzo behind his back, the Kenyan rapper again called him out in front of the other housemates. Unlike before, when Keagan was all high and mighty, this time when Prezzo spoke, the man listened with his tail between his legs. NOMINATIONS REVIEW Goldie, Kyle, Lady May and Prezzo are up for eviction this week. People are probably getting really worried about Goldie’s ever-changing emotions. She is the personification of the phrase “cry me a rive...

Two Nigerians have been listed on a compilation of the ten young Africans millionaires to watch out for. The list which was released by popular business magazine, Forbes, has 30-year-old C.E.O of Bakrie Delano Africa , Ladi Delano and owner of IrokoTV , Jason Njoku as the only two Nigerians on the list. Other young entrepreneurs who made the list include Mark Shuttleworth , Justin Stanford and Yolanda Cuba from South Africa, Ashish Thakkar from Uganda, Senegalese Magatte Wade and three others. The magazine recently released a list of 20 youngest most powerful African women which had writer, Chimamanda Adichie, journalist Funmi Iyanda and I.T guru, Juliet Ehimuan as Nigeria’s representatives. By Olamide Jasanya

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that Nigeria will spend $8,350,000 annually over the next four years making a total of $33,400,000 on issues bordering on family planning with a view to reducing the country’s currently unacceptably high maternal and child mortality rates. Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of State for Health, Dr Mohammed Ali Pate, stated this at a family planning summit which took place in London, on Wednesday. According to him, the new arrangement was aside current annual commitment of $3 million for the procurement of reproductive health commodities. “We are committed to increasing the awareness and demand for family planning and reproductive health services by women regardless of their socio-economic status. In our quest to save one million lives in Nigeria by 2015, we consider all lives have equal value,” he said He added: “We are focused to save the lives of mothers and children from preventable causes and consider family planning ...

Royal Dutch Shell Rank: 1 (Previous rank: 2) CEO: Peter R. Voser Employees: 90,000 Address: Carel van Bylandtlaan 30 The Hague, 2596 Country: Netherlands The company at the top of Fortune’s Global 500 list has made headlines for its push to drill in Arctic waters. It's been a controversial plan, in part, because a spill in cold water near Alaska would likely prove difficult to clean. Shell is pushing forward, hoping to begin drilling this July for some of the estimated 90 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Arctic. Over the next 10-20 years, the company expects oil from the Arctic to be its largest source of crude. In the short-term, Shell has done well, boosting its earnings for the first quarter of 2012 by 11%, compared to the previous year, to $7.7 billion. Part of the increase in earnings comes from Shell’s long-term projects that have just started producing: namely, a gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar and projects in the C...

U sher’s 2004 album Confessions surpassed 10-million in U-S sales this week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Confessions was released on March 23rd, 2004 and debuted at number one on the Billboard album chart with 1.1-million copies sold in its first week, making it one of only 17 albums to sell one-million in a single week. Confessions spent nine weeks at number one on the album chart and spawned three number one hit singles with "Yeah!," "Burn" and "Confessions Part II." According to Nielsen SoundScan, Confessions is only the 19th album to sell 10-million units since the SoundScan era began in 1991. The last album to sell 10-million was Eminem’s The Eminem Show, which was released in 2002 and crossed the threshold last year. MTV Base 

Founder and owner of Alapomeji Records, 9ice, has signed a new record label deal with Diesel Music. 9ice has already collaborated with Shyne and Smoothy who are also signed under Diesel Music. According to reports the deal was sealed not so long ago. A few of the joints are set to be released in the next few weeks.  MTV Base 

R. Kelly alleges that the true reason he and former wife, Andrea Kelly got a divorce was due in part to Ryan Gosling. The couple was married for a turbulent twelve years during which they had three children and endured the backlash during Kelly’s child pornography trial. After one too many fights, Mrs. Kelly threw her 50-thousnad dollar wedding ring into a pond in the couple’s backyard and spawned R.Kelly’s epiphany after watching 2004’s The Notebook. According to Kelly’s new memoir, the R&B singer burst into tears at the end of the film, coming to the realisation that his marriage had ended and there was nothing he could do to bring it back. by MTVBASE

The agent of Victor Moses has insisted he ‘will do all he can’ to ensure his client switches to Chelsea. The Latics have already rejected one £4 million bid from the Blues, but it is expected that they will return. Wigan chairman, Dave Whelan, recently attacked the involvement of agents, arguing they were not working for the good of their clients. Moses’ representative, Tony Finnigan, has hit back and gone on to say he will push for a move as long as the two clubs agree a fee. He said: “I know how these things work, but I’m not getting involved in a slanging match. “All I will say is, how did Victor end up at Wigan, when he could have gone to Manchester City? Who took him to Wigan?' He added: “Provding Wigan can agree a fee with Chelsea, I will do all I can to make the move happen for Victor,' he added. Wigan are demanding up to £12 million for Moses, while Chelsea are said to value him at closer to £8 million. by Rob MacDonald

Dana Air’s lead underwriter in Nigeria on Tuesday issued cheques for interim benefits to nine claimants. This comes on the heels of legal verification of documentation and next of kin status. The commencement of payment to the nine families by DANA Air is in compliance with the mandatory requirement by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), for interim benefits to be paid to families of crash victims within 30 days of the accident. As part of efforts to ensure proper rehabilitation of the displaced Iju-Ishaga residents, Dana Air has also presented cheques to all affected families as payment for new accommodation. The company, according to its spokesman, Mr. Tony Usidamen, explained that is in contact with all other families who have submitted relevant documents to Dana Air's Crisis Management Centre (CMC) in Lagos and Abuja. It advised that they come forward to the chambers of Yomi Oshikoya & Co, appoint...

The King of Pop’s famed tiger Thriller died of lung cancer earlier this month.  Thriller was one of several wild animals that Michael Jackson owned and kept at his Neverland Ranch. The los Angeles Times reports: A Bengal tiger that once belonged to pop icon Michael Jackson died of lung cancer at Tippi Hedren’s Los Angeles-area wildlife preserve earlier this month, the actress confirmed. The 13-year-old, 375-pound female tiger, aptly named Thriller, died June 11 at the Shambala Preserve in Acton, Hedren said. An autopsy was performed on the tiger to determine the exact cause of death. Thriller moved to the Acton preserve with her brother, Sabu, in 2006 after Jackson left his Neverland Ranch. Jackson’s veterinarian asked Hedren to take in the animals, she said. The pair were kept in a vast, multi-acre compound on the preserve, where Sabu remains in “very good health,” Hedren said           by the Grio 

Spain now proceeds to the finals after a penalty shoot out.What a miss.I will miss ronaldo.Portugal gave a hard fight after taking spain to extra-time.Who can predict germany vs italy match.Its going to be a tough match i think.

SINCE talkshow host Oprah Winfrey packed up the couch that Tom Cruise jumped on and ended her daytime talk show last year, no one has truly filled her role as the top go-to TV person for major celebrity and news interviews. Faced with the potential failure of her money-pit cable network OWN, Winfrey is working the phones hard to secure big-name interviews for her show, Oprah's Next Chapter. Back-to-back episodes last Sunday featured the Kardashian family and rapper 50Cent, and the Kardashians will be back this weekend. Michael Jackson's daughter Paris and the late Whitney Houston's family made news with their interviews in recent weeks. The open question is whether she can have the same cultural impact on a smaller stage. Winfrey's daytime talk show was generally seen by about 6million people in her final years, while Oprah's Next Chapter with the Kardashians was seen by 1,1million viewers, according to the Nielsen company. ...

06/27 Portugal v. Winner quarter-final 3 ‎ - 6:45 PM 06/23 Spain v. France ‎ -7.45pm 06/24 England v. Italy ‎ -7.45pm 06/27 Portugal v. Winner quarter-final 3 ‎ - 6:45 PM All times are Nigeria Time Reigning champions Spain must reverse a historical trend if they are to get past quarter-final opponents France – a team they have never beaten in six competitive fixtures. Defending champions Spain must reverse an anomaly of history when they take on France in their UEFA EURO 2012 quarter-final in Donetsk. Spain have never beaten their neighbours in a competitive fixture which holds only unhappy memories for them, not least UEFA European Championship defeats in the 1984 final and then the 2000 quarter-finals, when Laurent Blanc was in the France team. • Group D runners-up France were the last side to eliminate Spain from a major international tournament – the 2006 FIFA World Cup – and now face...

Cristiano Ronaldo was the star of the show as Portugal dominated the Czech Republic to go through to the Euro 2012 semi-finals. The former Man United star, who's now at Real Madrid, scored the game's only goal but played brilliantly throughout. Ronaldo came close to scoring two other goals, hitting the post once in each half, before a superb header 12 minutes before time clinched the win. After the match, he said: "Our great aim is to get to the final." To reach the final, Portugal will need to beat either Spain or France in the semi-final. Those two teams play each other on Saturday. In the other quarter-finals, Germany play Greece on Friday and England face Italy on Sunday night. The Czechs played bravely and held off Portugal's attacks for most of the game. Their strategy seemed to be to try to contain the talents of Ronaldo and Nani, and rely on counter-attacks. But Portugal kept pressing hard, and the stats don't ...

Nigeria’s patriarch of arts, Ambassador Segun Olusola has died on Thursday, June 21 after a brief illness. The Guardian newspaper reported that the late Olusola was born at Iperu-Remo, Ogun State, on March 18, 1935, and attended the Roman Catholic School Iperu- Remo between 1941 and 1943. He was also at Wesley School Iperu from 1944 to 1947 and the Remo Secondary School, Sagamu from 1948 to 1953. After a one year service as Account Assistant at the ECN now PHCN, he began his broadcasting Career in 1955 at the Ibadan station of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service and in September 159 become African’s first Television producer with the WNTV now NTA Ibadan in a Television career that lasted till 1987 during which he created the longest running TV Drama series, The village Headmaster  in 1968. He served as Chairman of the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON). Second All Africa Games Coverage Committee 1973 and NTA’s director of Commercial Operations in 1986. His bro...

 The names of three Boko Haram  leaders have been added to the global list of terrorists.   Abubakar Shekau, Abubakar Adam Kambar and Khalid al-Barnawi  are the newest names on the international terror lists as part of the United states efforts to control the recurrent terrorist attacks in Nigeria. In a  statement issued on Thursday by the State Department  they were “blocked all of Shekau’s, Kambar’s and al-Barnawi’s property interests subject to US jurisdiction and prohibits US persons from engaging in transactions with or for the benefit of these individuals”. Before this designation, Shekau’s name was the only terrorist known to the Nigerian public, as other operatives had used aliases to conceal their identities. By intoxyka

 Many people try personal development techniques, but often they find them hard to accomplish. Barriers, such as physical fitness, mental capacity or self control, can hinder those who wish to try personal development. The tips found in this article will help anyone attempting personal development to break down those barriers. Reward yourself for positive behavior. Whether you are actively trying to lose weight or trying to better your time and distance on your morning run, recognize when you have made an important improvement and reward yourself accordingly. A new outfit or a trip to the salon would be a real incentive to work until you achieve your goals. Your personal development goals should absolutely match your passions in life. In other words, you should not only propel your whole self to greatness, but seek greatness in the fields you dabble in. Your passions should develop along with your sense of self. It will keep your goals varied and interesting, and motivate you ...

SURVIVORS AND THRIVERS: Couples may tend to have a short frame and lose sight of the big picture. Many couples may be tempted to throw in the towel rather than see that marriage is a growing machine . Couples who have been married for decades often take pride in how they have faced hardships together. BITTER OR BETTER: Ask yourselves how economic challenges can make you better instead of bitter. When we look back on our lives we realize the pride that we take in having weathered hard times. We both had to put ourselves through college. At one time Robert was eating left-overs from the trays in the college cafeteria until his financial aid came through. Linda laughs that she might have become a smoker when she was young but she could not afford a pack of cigarettes. WEAR THE SAME UNIFORM: Teamwork is essential and couples need to wear the same colors. It is important to use the word "We" when discussing economics and avoid behaving like enemies. It feels different to say ...