Keshi clears Ameobi

Shola Ameobi

Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi says  injured Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi will be fit for a 2014 World Cup playoff in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia host Nigeria on October 13 in a first leg play-off for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Ameobi has been sidelined by a knock he picked up while on international duty last month with his club saying he will be sidelined for several weeks thus raising fears he may miss the match in Addis Ababa.

“Shola is fine. He will be ready for the game against Ethiopia. I spoke with him last week and he said he is good. In any case he is a very disciplined player who really wants to play for his country,” Keshi was quoted by MTNFootball.com as saying on Wednesday.

“So, my list remains intact, there would be no changes.”

Ameobi has won four caps for Nigeria and scored a goal since he made his long-awaited international debut against Venezuela last year in the United States.

Internet technology becoming cyber chic

 

 Models wearing Google Glass eyewear, Pebble smart watches and other hot gadgets strutted a catwalk late Monday as Internet technology continued to merge with the world of fashion.
A Digital Fall fashion show here marked the close of the first Glazed Conference devoted to setting the stage for wearable computing start-ups to become billion-dollar businesses.

“It looks like technology for the sake of technology is dead,” said Eliane Fiolet, co-founder of popular technology news website Ubergizmo.com and organizer of the fashion show.

“People want a great piece of technology that works well and looks great.”

Companies are increasingly tuning into desires for sophisticated gadgets that also let people express personal styles, she noted.

Jawbone lets people customize colours of Jambox wireless speakers that synch wirelessly to smart phones, tablets, or laptop computers.

Nike allows people visiting its website to design their own athletic shoes, and matches some sports attire with wearable devices that track daily active for those chasing fitness goals.

“There will be more and more integration with fashion and technology,” Fiolet said. “We are just at the very start of it.”

She believed that Google has touched on a winning formula with Google Glass Internet-linked eyewear, which have become a fashion trend in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley areas.

“We are in the next stage of human evolution,” said Glazed Conference organizer Redg Snodgrass, co-founder of Stained Glass Labs start-up accelerator devoted to revving up the wearable computing industry.

“Entrepreneurs aren’t those nerds living in a closet anymore,” Snodgrass said as the fashion show was about to commence in a club not far from Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco.

“They are out there pushing the limit. Anything that is technologically fascinating is sexy, and fashion is tied to that.”

While fitness has been a winning theme for early wearable computing devices, such as UP and Fitbit bracelets for providing feedback on whether people are hitting activity and sleep goals, Snodgrass thinks films and games will be the next areas to catch fire.

The one-day Glazed Conference was intended to bring together entrepreneurs, investors and others to explore ways to realize ideas and make money in the world of wearable computing.

“Not only did they show up, they brought the heat,” Snodgrass said of the turnout. “They brought some great stuff.”

Among the attendees was self-described ‘cyber technician’ Tyler Freeman, who sported Drum Pants lined with sensors that let him play percussion beats by slapping various spots on his legs. The sensor strips are held in place with Velcro, meaning they can be swapped between pieces of a wardrobe, he explained.

“The goal is to get banned in public schools; then we know we are a success,” said the San Francisco-based entrepreneur.

Tapping on Drum Pants sends signals wirelessly to smart phones, which then direct thumps or synthesized sounds to come from speakers. The sensors could be used to control PowerPoint presentations or Google Glass cameras with casual touches of a leg, according to Freeman.

Fiolet already has her sites set on next year’s show, with hopes of being able to showcase creations of London-based Cute Circuit, the cyber chic fashion house that wowed the world with a “Twitter Dress” worn by a celebrity to a 4G mobile network launch event in Britain in late 2012.

LED lights designed into the gown displayed posts from the globally-popular one-to-many messaging service.

Technology and fashion need to be combined tastefully to make for a winning creation, according to Fiolet.

“It has to be good looking; be a great piece of technology, and monitor something you care about,” she contended. “If you don’t care, you will never wear it. And, if it is ugly, you will never wear it.”

Jellyfish ‘invasion’ causes Swedish nuclear reactor shutdown

STOCKHOLM: A Swedish nuclear reactor was restarted on Wednesday following a three-day closure caused by a build-up of jellyfish in a cooling system, according to the operators.

The incident occurred in reactor 3 at Oskarshamn power station on the Baltic Sea coast, which is run by OKG, a subsidiary of the German electricity company EON.

“It was a larger amount than we had ever seen. Every autumn we have to get rid of jellyfish, but not that many,” OKG spokeswoman Emmy Davidsson told AFP.

The company announced on Sunday that the reactor—Sweden’s largest with a 1400 MW output and the world’s largest boiling water reactor—was “manually shut down due to a large amount of jellyfish present at the cooling water intake”. The closure did not lead to power outages.

On Wednesday the company said in a statement that the reactor was restarted once the jellyfish had been cleared from the system and the numbers of new arrivals had subsided.

“Furthermore we have reinforced our clearing system to deal with any future jellyfish invasions,” wrote OKG.

The influx of jellyfish damaged the reactor’s seawater filter mechanism, forcing OKG to replace parts and to clear cages with high pressure water, added spokeswoman Emmy Davidsson.

Similar incidents have occurred in other coastal plants such as Torness on Scotland’s east coast in 2011.

A number of factors are believed to have increased jellyfish numbers in the Baltic and other seas, including rising pollution levels, warmer waters and less biodiversity.

Chelsea blow off cobwebs in Bucharest

BUCHAREST: Chelsea got their Champions League campaign up and running at the second attempt on Tuesday with a one-sided 4-0 win away to Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest.

Stunned 2-1 by Basel at Stamford Bridge in their opening game, Chelsea were eager to make up for lost time and the Europa League champions never looked in trouble beneath the closed roof of Bucharest's Arena Nationala.

Ramires broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, with hapless Steaua right-back Daniel Georgievski putting through his own goal on the verge of half-time.

Ramires added a third early in the second period, before Frank Lampard's low shot sealed victory in the 90th minute. "I think the performance was very solid, from the first minute," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports. "We kept always the control of the game and the result, and I think we played good football, but also with intelligence and maturity. "I think we are going to do it. I think we are going to qualify. This result today is important, because if you don't win, you are a bit under pressure."

The one false note for the visitors, beaten on this ground en route to success in the Europa League last season, was an injury to Fernando Torres, who left the fray after hurting his knee in the 11th minute.
Mourinho, though, said he did not think the injury was as severe as the one that recently saw Chelsea's Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel ruled out for around six months. "We have to wait. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will have the scans and we will see what happens," he said. "I hope it's not one more dramatic like Van Ginkel. Doc (Paco) Biosca says not to be so worried, because it will not be a Van Ginkel situation."
Schalke's 1-0 win at Basel in the other Group E game leaves them three points above Chelsea at the summit ahead of back-to-back games between the sides later this month and in early November.

Mourinho brought Andre Schurrle and Juan Mata into the team that drew 1-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday and the Spaniard almost teed up Schurrle for an early opener, but Iasmin Latovlevici blocked.

The visitors' purposeful start threatened to be upset by the premature departure of Torres, but his replacement, Samuel Eto'o, was quick to make a telling contribution.

Schurrle sped past Georgievski on the Chelsea left and centred for Eto'o, who mishit his shot but saw the bobbling ball prodded home by the alert Ramires.

Schurrle blazed over and Mata had a shot comfortably saved by goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu, before the blundering Georgievski inadvertently doubled Chelsea's lead in the 44th minute.

Eto'o was again the catalyst, surging onto Mata's pass, cutting inside Latovlevici and dispatching a shot that Tatarusanu parried, only for the ball to rebound into the net off the shin of the onrushing Georgievski.

Chelsea put the game to bed 10 minutes into the second half, following another strong burst down the left flank by Schurrle. His centre found Oscar, who in turn laid the ball off for Ramires to rattle a shot between Tatarusanu and his left-hand upright.

Mourinho's delight was evident as he congratulated Schurrle with a touchline hug.

Moments later, Mata struck the post from a delightful Oscar back-heel, while Schurrle went close to crowing his display with a goal by curling a shot fractionally wide of the far post.

Steaua had their moments, however, with goalkeeper Petr Cech obliged to tip a feathery chip from Cristian Tanase over the crossbar and block from Nicolae Stanciu, who lashed the rebound over.

Lampard prevented Lucian Filip from claiming a late consolation with a sharp block and then completed the scoring at the death by sweeping home a lay-off from substitute Willian.

Barcelona edge past 10-man Celtic

GLASGOW: Barcelona needed a second-half goal from Cesc Fabregas to claim a narrow 1-0 Champions League win over 10-man Celtic in Glasgow on Tuesday that leaves the Catalans top of Group H.

The Spanish champions dominated possession but failed to test goalkeeper Fraser Forster in the opening 45 minutes with Celtic's Georgios Samaras having the best chance of the half.

But it was a moment of madness from skipper Scott Brown that cost Celtic dearly as the midfielder was shown a straight red card in the 59th minute as he appeared to direct a sly kick at Neymar after tripping the Brazilian superstar.

However, Celtic recovered well from Brown's dismissal and substitute James Forrest forced Victor Valdes into a fine save before Charlie Mulgrew headed just wide.

But, moments after creating the best chance of the match, substitute Alexis Sanchez, only on the pitch for two minutes, crossed for former Arsenal man Fabregas to nod home and gain revenge for their defeat at the same venue last season.

It means Barca top Group H on six points after AC Milan and Ajax finished 1-1 and handed Celtic, who prop up the group looking for their first point, a rare home defeat in the Champions League.

Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino, whose side have made a 100 percent start to their season, said Celtic had been their toughest opponents to date. "This match has been the most demanding that we have had to play so far because of the rival and the competition and Victor Valdes made very important saves for us as well," said Martino. "But we managed to combine long balls with our one-touch game and that managed to make us more dynamic and unpredictable."

Celtic manager Neil Lennon felt the decision to send Brown off was soft. "If there was any contact it was minimal. I think there was a lot more going on in the game that merited heavier punishment," Lennon said. "It was a game-changing decision. Obviously it is very difficult playing against Barcelona with 11 players but with 10 it is even more difficult but we played very well tonight."

Barcelona, who were missing Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba and Carles Puyol through injury, had opted for Neymar, Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez up front while Celtic manager Neil Lennon retained faith in the same starting 11 that were unlucky to lose 2-0 to Milan in the San Siro a fortnight ago.

Even without the injured Messi, who scored a hat-trick in their opening 4-0 win over Ajax, Barcelona showed their class early on as their slick possession football forced two early corners.

However, it was a fast break from the Hoops that created the first real opportunity after just five minutes. Kris Commons played in Samaras who, from a tight angle, forced keeper Valdes to turn his shot out for a corner that Mikael Lustig headed well wide. Andres Iniesta then got sight of the Celtic goal but the influential midfielder saw his strike sail over without troubling Fraser Forster.

Barca continued to ping the passes about but it took until the 41st minute for them to muster up their first real opportunity. Daniel Alves sent an inviting ball into the box from the right that Neymar prodded narrowly wide.

Xavi Hernandez then tested Forster with a curling free-kick from wide on the left that the 'keeper made a meal of and was relieved to see go out for a corner after coming off his shoulder.

The game changed when skipper Brown was ordered off in the 59th minute.
The Celtic midfielder's sly kick at Neymar on the deck after tripping the Brazilian 25 yards out as he raced towards goal was spotted by French referee Stephane Lannoy, who had no hesitation in handing him a straight red card.

Moments after coming on, Scottish international Forrest nearly had Celtic in front when his fierce half-volley was acrobatically turned over by Valdes after the 'keeper saw it late. Valdes was then caught napping at the resultant corner but Mulgrew had his head in his hands after he nodded wide of the unprotected goal.

Moments after creating the best two chances of the match Celtic were caught with a sucker punch when Fabregas put Barca ahead.

Alexis raced behind the Celtic defence to latch on to a Neymar pass and cross for the former Arsenal man to direct a header back across Forster and looping into the bottom corner.