The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has unveiled the
Super Eagles' opponents for the qualifiers of the 2015 Africa Cup of
Nations, AFCON, holding in Morocco.
According to the
draws announced at CAF's headquarters in Cairo a while ago, Nigeria is
drawn in Group A alongside the hosts of the last edition of the
competions, South Africa, Sudan and the Winner of Match 37/38.
Those
that would compete in Group B are Mali, Algeria, Ethiopia and Winner of
Match 43/44. While Burkina Faso, Angola, Gabon and Winner of Match
33/34 would trade tackles in Group C.
For Group D, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, DR Congo and Winner Match 41/42 would slug it out.
Group E would witness west African battles among Ghana, Togo, Guinea and Winner of Match 35/36.
Zambia, Cape Verde, Niger and Winner of Match 45/46 would fight for places in Group F.
* AFCON Draw ceremony
Group
G, which many analysts have dubbed the group of death, would
see Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal and Winner of Match 39/40 fight for the
tickets available in the group.
Egypt's most successful coach
Hassan Shehata pulls the draw for the tournament that will be held from
17 January to 8 February in 2015 in Morocco.
The opening Ceremony will be in Marrakech.
CAF has announced that the qualifiers will be played in home and away fixtures.
Nine
of the 28 teams will qualify for the Nations Cup: The group winners and
runner-ups, along with the best third-placed side. The host team,
Morocco, will automatically qualify.
Egypt are the record winners
of the Nations Cup with seven titles under their belt, which they won in
1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010.
However, the 10 Second round draws are:
Match 5 & 6 Liberia vs Lesotho
Match 7 & 8 Kenya vs Comoros
Match 9 & 10 Madagascar vs Uganda
Match 11 & 12 Mauritania vs Equatorial Guinea
Match 13 & 14Namibia vs Congo
Match 15 & 16 Libya vs Rwanda
Match 17 & 18 Burundi vs Botswana
Match 19 & 20 Central African Republic vs Guinea Bissau
Match 21 & 22 Swaziland vs Sierra Leone
Match 23 & 24 Gambia vs Seychelles
Match 25 & 26 Sao Tome e Principe vs Benin
Match 27 & 28 Malawi vs Chad
Match 29 & 30 Tanzania vs Zimbabwe
Match 31 & 31 Mozambique vs South Sudan
First leg to be held 16,17 or 18 May 2014 while the the second leg 30,31 May or 1 June 2014.
READ MORE: https://news.naij.com/65342.html
Alhassan Mohammed Goni, a clairvoyant in Adamawa State, on
Tuesday said he will expose the sponsors of Boko Haram if they refuse to
stop the current bloodbath and hostilities in the country within two
weeks.
Goni
said he was greatly disturbed by the activities of the Islamist sect,
adding that he sympathized with President Goodluck Jonathan, as the
insurgents and their sponsors are doing everything possible to mar his
administration.
He expressed the belief that those after Jonathan's administration would fail because the president is a good man.
The spiritualist warned that those sponsoring Boko Haram should change or face exposure from him.
He
said those behind the insurgents are top politicians and traditional
rulers with the sole aim of causing mayhem in the country.
Goni revealed that he knew about the secret meetings the sponsors of insurgents held before the attack on Nyanya motor park.
He, however, lamented that he could not stop the attack because he was not authorised to do so.
"My
vision always tells me whenever the Boko Haram are about to launch
attacks but I was always incapacitated to stop them because I was not
given express permission by the authorities to do so; but through my
intervention, the intensity of the attacks is minimal" he said.
The
spiritualist acknowledged that Jonathan's administration is under
security challenges, but expressed the hope that he would over come it.
Goni urged the Federal Government to take extreme security measures in protecting the lives of Nigerians.
READ MORE: https://news.naij.com/65092.html
Nollywood actor, Chris Nkulor who was diagnosed of kidney failure is dead.
This is coming barely one month after friends of the Nollywood actor launched a campaign to raise a sum of N6million to enable him travel abroad to undergo a kidney transplant surgery.
The
Abia State born actor who drastically lost weight as a result of his
sickness has featured in movies such as "Battle of Indemnity" (2007) and
"Hidden Treasure" (2008).
His death as caused another tragic loss in the Nollywood industry following the death of two other actresses, Chrisphina Adinusor who died of cardiac arrest on March 28th 2014 and Ijeoma Perpetual Okorie who died during childbirth in February 2014.
May His Soul RIP.
READ MORE: https://news.naij.com/65094.html
Anfield side pursue San Siro ace.
Liverpool
boss Brendan Rodgers is reportedly keen on welcoming AC Milan striker
Mario Balotelli to Anfield as part of an ambitious summer spending spree
according to Football Direct News.
Read great Liverpool stories in Indonesian Bahasa! Liverpool berita.
The
Italian international is apparently unsettled at the San Siro and AC
Milan may seek to cash-in on the Italian international as they look to
balance the books to cover the loss of revenue caused by their inability
to secure a Champions League berth for next term.
Though Rodgers
can call upon in-form pair Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez up front he
is keen to bring in a player who can fight the duo for their starting
spots and Balotelli is clearly a player talented enough to do just that.
The
former Man City man has scored regularly, despite AC Milan’s poor form,
netting 26 goals in 35 Serie A starts since signing for the Rossoneri
in January 2013.
Rodgers may be keen to strengthen this summer,
especially with a return to the Champions League fold having been
secured, but one would imagine there are other areas in his squad that
may be in more need of investment.
Prior to his move to AC Milan Balotelli scored 30 goals in 80 appearances, of which 31 were from the bench.
Anfield side pursue San Siro ace.
Liverpool
boss Brendan Rodgers is reportedly keen on welcoming AC Milan striker
Mario Balotelli to Anfield as part of an ambitious summer spending spree
according to Football Direct News.
Read great Liverpool stories in Indonesian Bahasa! Liverpool berita.
The
Italian international is apparently unsettled at the San Siro and AC
Milan may seek to cash-in on the Italian international as they look to
balance the books to cover the loss of revenue caused by their inability
to secure a Champions League berth for next term.
Though Rodgers
can call upon in-form pair Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez up front he
is keen to bring in a player who can fight the duo for their starting
spots and Balotelli is clearly a player talented enough to do just that.
The
former Man City man has scored regularly, despite AC Milan’s poor form,
netting 26 goals in 35 Serie A starts since signing for the Rossoneri
in January 2013.
Rodgers may be keen to strengthen this summer,
especially with a return to the Champions League fold having been
secured, but one would imagine there are other areas in his squad that
may be in more need of investment.
Prior to his move to AC Milan Balotelli scored 30 goals in 80 appearances, of which 31 were from the bench.
According to a recent Gallup poll, nearly 30% of Americans believe real estate is the best
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As an industry, airlines received the fourth-worst score in the
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) rankings of customer
satisfaction. Only pay TV, social media companies and Internet service
providers rank lower. Even wireless carriers and car dealers rank
higher. That may not be an indictment of the industry, but it does
indicate a lot of room for improvement.
Overall customer
satisfaction with the airline industry in the 2014 ACSI survey totals
just 69. The biggest contributors to the low ranking are uncomfortable
seating and poor in-flight service. Checked baggage fees also play a
significant role in the satisfaction indexes. For customers who don't
check any baggage, the index reading is 71, compared with 66 for those
who do check bags. ACSI notes that the percentage of passengers checking
baggage has dropped from 35% in 2013 to 31% this year.
Among the
six carriers ACSI ranked by name, JetBlue and Southwest continue to lead
in customer satisfaction, although both saw their scores drop compared
with a year ago. Higher fuel costs and higher costs for wages and
general inflation contributed to the lower ratings this year.
Among
the four legacy carriers, Delta Air Lines holds the lead, following a
collapse to an ACSI score of 56 after Delta's 2010 merger with Northwest
Airlines. Airline mergers typically take several years to sort out
because, among other things, it is so difficult to switch from two
reservation systems to one. Measured by market share and profit, Delta's
comeback appears to be complete.
United Continental, created by
the merger of United and Continental, still suffers from the effects of
its merger of three years ago. The creation of American Airlines Group
from last year's merger of American and U.S. Airways has a long road
ahead of it before the combined airline runs smoothly. Neither scored
well on the 2014 ACSI, and it is difficult to believe that a combined
score will improve significantly.
MORE: Airline demand hits record level
Market
share data come from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the
Research and Innovative Technology Administration of the U.S. Department
of Transportation. The data reported cover the period from February
2013 through January 2014. JetBlue's high customer satisfaction ranking
is a testament to its low fares and fees; its low market share is
evidence of the difficulty of expanding its gate counts as the larger
airlines consolidate.
Overall satisfaction with on-time arrivals
has dropped from an index reading of 81 to 79, but that is still a
fairly high score, compared with 63 for seat comfort, the lowest scoring
category. Ease of check-in and ease of making reservations rank at the
top, with index scores of 82.
In addition to the six carriers
identified by name, ACSI also grouped several carriers in an "All
Others" group that included Alaska Air Group, Spirit Airlines and
Frontier Airlines. The All Others group posted an index score of 70.
ACSI
surveys 70,000 customers annually about products and services they use
most often. The researchers then use the data to benchmark more than 230
companies in 43 industries and 10 economic sectors.
In addition
to ACSI, we have considered data from AirfareWatchdog.com for additional
fees charged by the six major airlines ranked in survey. The total fees
are the amount a passenger would pay if he or she paid at least the
minimum fee in each of 14 fee categories. We did not include data
related to frequent flyer programs and fees. Low-cost carriers Southwest
and JetBlue keep their fees low so that they don't lose their image as
lower cost alternatives to the bigger airlines. They have to keep afloat
the idea that no matter what they charge it will always be the lowest
fare available.
Revenue and net income reflect data reported by
the airlines for the fiscal year ended in December 2013. Revenue and net
income for American Airlines and U.S. Airways is consolidated to
reflect results for American and American Eagle for all of 2013 and
results for U.S. Airways for the final 23 days of December.
These are America's best and worst airlines.
6. United Airlines
> 2014 ACSI score: 60
> Total additional fees: $935
> Market share: 15.6%
> Revenue: $38.28 billion
> Net income: $571 million
The
merger between legacy carriers United and Continental closed in October
2010, and the combined company continues to have issues with the unions
and the reservations system. The largest flight attendants' union, for
example, has threatened legal action over an involuntary furlough
proposal and a plan to move some flight attendants from United to
Continental. In a recent study by U.S. PIRG Education Fund, United
ranked third in customer complaints behind Spirit and Frontier. Among
the six carriers, it ranks fourth highest for additional fees. United's
market share has dipped from 16% in 2012 to 15.6%.
5. U.S. Airways
> 2014 ACSI score: 66
> Total additional fees: $985
> Market share: 8.5%
> Revenue: $26.74 billion
> Net income: $1.83 billion loss
The
merger between U.S. Airways and American has not really had much chance
to take hold yet. On its own, U.S. Airways' ACSI score rose two points
in the latest survey. The revenue figure for last year is also a bit
misleading. If you combine the two airlines revenues for 2013, the total
is $35.5 billion, up 4.7% from 2012's combined total, and now the best
in the airline industry. Of the legacy carriers, U.S. Airways claimed
the smallest market share. U.S. Airways, like the other legacy airlines,
sports added fees right around $1,000, nearly double the level of
JetBlue and about triple the level of Southwest.
4. American Airlines
> 2014 ACSI score: 66
> Total additional fees: $1,093
> Market share: 12.7%
> Revenue: $26.74 billion (2013 pro forma)
> Net income: $1.83 billion loss
The
bankruptcy of American Airlines' former parent, AMR Corp., led to the
completion of the latest round of mergers among the legacy carriers.
American, United and Delta, along with non-legacy Southwest, now combine
for nearly 70% of the U.S. domestic market. The company's fees add up
to the highest total among these carriers. American's market share
slipped a bit from 15.9% in 2012, but the addition of U.S. Airways' 8.5%
share more than makes up for the slight loss.
3. Delta Air Lines
> 2014 ACSI score: 71
> Total additional fees: $969
> Market share: 16.3%
> Revenue: $37.77 billion (2013)
> Net income: $10.54 billion
Delta's
market share did not change from 2012, remaining at 16.3%, the highest
among all the carriers. The company's added fees were the second lowest
among the legacy group, and its 2013 revenues put it second behind
United and ahead of American. Delta's massive net income is the result
of an $8 billion income tax benefit, but even so the company posted $2.5
billion in profit last year, up by $1.5 billion from the previous year.
It has the highest ACSI score among the legacy carriers, and its total
fees are third highest among the six carriers.
MORE: Boeing, Airbus battle for Delta order
2. Southwest Airlines
> 2014 ACSI score: 78
> Total additional fees: $338
> Market share: 15.7%
> Revenue: $17.7 billion (2013)
> Net income: $754 million
Southwest's
additional fees are the lowest in the entire industry, more than 40%
lower than JetBlue's. The airline has no fees for checked bags (up to
two) and the lowest per-bag fee for more than two bags. The company's
CEO has hinted that fees may be coming, but so far nothing has changed.
Southwest's market share grew from 15.1% in 2012 to 15.7%. The airline
has also had its own issues trying to absorb AirTran, but its customers
are sticking with it, very likely because of Southwest's low fares and
fees.
MORE: America's fastest growing (and shrinking) economies
1. JetBlue
> 2014 ACSI score: 79
> Total additional fees: $595
> Market share: 5.1%
> Revenue: $5.44 billion (2013)
> Net income: $168 million
JetBlue
is the smallest of the six carriers named in the ACSI survey, and its
size is both a benefit and a curse. Its market share is essentially flat
with a year ago, and the company started offering premium seating (at
premium pricing) on some of its coast-to-coast flights last year. Just
last week, brand research firm Brand Keys named JetBlue the top airline
in its Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Low fares and the second
lowest fee schedule have a lot of appeal to customers and may forgive a
multitude of sins. Just ask the folks at JetBlue or Southwest.
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