Beyoncé to Sing National Anthem at Inauguration

Bey will take the stage to help usher in President Obama’s second term.

By Reggie Ugwu

Beyoncé will be among a select few performers taking the stage at President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony on January 21. The pop superstar will join folk/rock icon James Taylor and inaugural American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson for the festivities.
Bey will be performing the national anthem, while Taylor will sing "America the Beautiful" and Clarkson will sing "My Country 'Tis of Thee."
This isn't Beyoncé's first time at a presidential inauguration. In 2009, she performed the Etta James classic "At Last" at the Inaugural Ball while the president and the first lady had their first dance.
More than 1 million people are expected to show up at this year's inauguration ceremony, held, as per tradition, on the front steps of the capital.
 BET

AFCON 2013: Reasons Why A Lot Of Nigerians May Miss Out On Live Games

Owing by the way Confederation of African Football(CAF) sold its TV rights,Nigerians might not be able to watch the 2013 African Nations Cup on terrestrial TV(local stations).
It is understood that the rights owners, Sportfive, are asking for astronomical figures,before local channels can beam live the competition,in the Nigerian terrain.
SportsFive are insisting on €6M fee,for Nigeria alone,which is a high figure for Nigerian TV stations to part with.
If the Broadcasting Association of Nigeria(BON) does not meet the financial demands,required for the acquisition of the rights,then Nigerians would resort to satellite decoders,if they wish to view the tournament.
Since CAF sold its TV rights to the current holders,Sportfive,Africans have been having difficulties watching their national teams.
For instance,virtually all the away matches of the Super Eagles of Nigeria,during the 2013 Nations Cup and 2014 World Cup qualifiers last year,were not shown on TV,here in Nigeria.
Naij

US Ahead Of Nigeria In Internet, Credit Card Fraud

Globally, over three hundred billion naira is lost annually to internet/credit card fraud worldwide. Interestingly, investigation has shown that the United States of America (USA) tops the list of countries where internet fraud thrives.
According to reports, data breaches in the US account for most of the credit card fraud affecting the EU.
Criminal gangs are making about 1.5bn euros (£1.2bn; $2bn) annually from such fraud, the EU police agency Europol says, regretting that compliance with new security features remains patchy.
With pockets of internet scams in Nigeria, for instance, one would have thought that Nigeria would top the list of countries with high rate of internet/credit fraud, the biggest now is US as reported by Europol; and Nigeria is, nowhere, close to US in terms of cases of internet fraud.
Nigerian online payments systems despite a short history and no recorded case of fraud are now being blacklisted on the Internet. Online businesses not only do not trust the integrity of Nigerian bank issued credit cards, they do not trust goods sold will be delivered. They do not trust that the Nigerian Customers will honestly acknowledge delivery of goods and services.

Unfortunately, the agency responsible for Nigerian cybercrime issues, the Nigerian Cybercrime Working Group (NCWG), does not have the resources to develop policies which will address these issues. Although there are no reliable data sources to quantify the amount of lost business transactions resulting from Nigerian Payment Systems rejection, it appears that from the number of Nigerians complaining on the Internet at various online forums, the numbers might be considerable.

Nigeria needs to develop a system that offers payment system guarantees, one that insures the delivery of goods and services sold to a Nigerian credit card holder on the internet. Nigerian financial institutions might find a solution to this dilemma in a system similar to “PayPal.” A system like this has fraud prevention controls that enable Nigerians to buy and sell securely on the internet.
In 2011 nearly all fraud involving EU cards took place outside the EU. Chip-and-PIN security used in the EU is not yet global, Europol notes.
Europol notes a range of problems in tackling credit card fraud:

• Proper regulations for reporting data breaches to police are lacking.
• Criminals operate in complex international networks, exploiting gaps in police and justice co-operation.
• Often the crimes take place online in several countries, with numerous people involved.
• Data thefts on the internet usually involve huge quantities of personal data, which criminals then sell on the internet.

Fraudsters distract consumers in shops and at cash machines to steal cards.
Another scam involves tricking cardholders out of their Pin by calling in the guise of their bank.
The fraud starts with the victim, often an older person, receiving an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from their bank and suggesting their card needs replacing.
The caller often suggests the person should hang up and call the bank back to ensure the call is genuine. However, by giving a bogus number or staying on the line, the fraudster can then pretend to be from the bank.
Naij

Brazilian Prostitutes Enrol In Language School For 2014 World Cup

Not only footballers, football federations, match officials, and the fans are preparing for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, prostitutes in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte are also preparing very hard.
The prostitutes are signing up in droves for free language classes in order to be ready for a barrage of foreign visitors to the tropical country during the 2014 soccer World Cup.
The women join many others in Brazilian society, from politicians to construction workers, who are racing the clock to prepare 12 host cities throughout the nation for the international soccer championship.
“When all this chatter about being ready for the World Cup started last year, we decided the women needed to be prepared for it too,” Cida Vieira, president of the Minas Gerais state Association of Prostitutes, told Reuters on Tuesday.
The group has solicited volunteers to teach English, Spanish and even Portuguese, she said, explaining that some of the city’s s*x workers are immigrants who needed to learn Brazil’s primary language.
Vieira said demand for the classes could surpass the 300 women who originally expressed interest, with calls coming in from as far away as Sao Paulo, about 509 km (316 miles) from Belo Horizonte.
“This is important for the dignity of the work, the women need to be able to negotiate a fair price and defend themselves,” she said.
InformationNigeria

Hilda Solis Resigns: Labor Secretary Announces She'll Depart Obama Cabinet

The White House confirmed the development in a statement:

Over her long career in public service - as an advocate for environmental justice in California, state legislator, member of Congress and Secretary of Labor - Hilda Solis has been a tireless champion for working families. Over the last four years, Secretary Solis has been a critical member of my economic team as we have worked to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and strengthen the economy for the middle class. Her efforts have helped train workers for the jobs of the future, protect workers' health and safety and put millions of Americans back to work. I am grateful to Secretary Solis for her steadfast commitment and service not only to the Administration, but on behalf of the American people. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

In a message to colleagues, Solis said she made the decision to leave after discussing it with her family and close friends. One of the highest-ranking Hispanics in Obama's administration, Solis has won praise from labor unions for aggressive enforcement of wage and hour laws and job safety regulations. But business groups have criticized her as not taking a more cooperative approach.
"Leaving the department is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made, because I have taken our mission to heart," Solis said. "As the daughter of parents who worked in factories, paid their union dues and achieved their goal of a middle-class life, and as the first Latina to head a major federal agency, it has been an incredible honor to serve."
President Barack Obama called Solis "a tireless champion for working families."
"Over the last four years, Secretary Solis has been a critical member of my economic team as we have worked to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and strengthen the economy for the middle class," Obama said in a statement.

Solis said she is proud that 1.7 million people have completed federally funded job training programs under her tenure. Her agency oversaw the spending of about $67 billion for unemployment insurance benefits, job training and other job placement and worker protection programs under Obama's economic stimulus package.
Separately, the White House said Wednesday that Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki would remain in their posts.
Holder and Sebelius have been frequent targets of Republican foes in Congress. The attorney general has been criticized for the government's handling of Operation Fast and Furious, a gun-running investigation gone awry. Sebelius is in charge of putting in place Obama's health care overhaul law, which Republicans have failed to repeal.

HuffingtonPost

"Super Eagles Used Juju in the Past"

President General of the Nigerian Football Supporters’ Club, Rafiu Ladipo has admitted that for many years Nigeria used black magic, popularly known as juju, to win matches.
Speaking on a Lagos Television (LTV) programme Tuesday, Ladipo, who has been leading Nigeria’s cheer party for over two and half decades now, admitted to the use of juju in the team, but was quick to admit that the practice has now been discarded on realising that there was no place for voodoo in football.
Ladipo is regarded as the country’s foremost cheerleader who has travelled the world leading thousands of supporters to cheer Nigeria to victory.
"I was carrying Super Eagles juju for so many decades until we came to realise that juju doesn’t play football,” Ladipo said on the television programme. "We have decided to put a stop to it as there are no links between football and voodoo.
"Now we believe only in praying and fasting to help Nigeria win their matches."
Nigeria has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice, on home soil in 1980 and in Tunisia in 1994.
There have been various allegations that players also employed juju to win places in the national team ahead of their rivals.
In 2010, former World Cup star Taribo West told a local newspaper how he sought spiritual powers in Senegal at the height of a career which took him to the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan, AJ Auxerre and Kaiserslautern.
Ladipo will lead about 300 supporters to Nelspruit, South Africa, to cheer the Eagles to victory in this month’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles are drawn in Group C along with champions Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia. They open their campaign on January 21 against Burkina Faso.
Naij

“Abramovich doesn’t have plans, it’s all about results” – Villas-Boas

Tottenham Hotspur coach Andre Villas-Boas, has evidently not moved on from his sack at Chelsea, almost a year on and is still fuming at Roman Abramovich’s preference for the easy option — rather than standing up to the dressing room.
“There are no plans at Chelsea, it’s results that rule,” AVB complained. “There are times in football when it’s easier to replace the coach.
“But when you embrace a project you believe in people. There was a commitment from Abramovich and his word was given.
“Yet there was a premature departure.”
Villas-Boas however says he is content with the stability he is enjoying in North London.
“We’re achieving what we’ve been asked to achieve,” he added. “We’re still in the Europa League and third in the Premier League.”
 DailyPost