Chibok girls: Niger state cancels Children' Day and Democracy Day celebrations

The Niger state government today May 22 cancelled the forthcoming Children's Day and Democracy Day celebrations in the state. According to the state's Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Danladi Ndayebo, the celebration was cancelled because of the missing Chibok girls and the security situation in the country. Briefing newsmen in his office, Alhaji Danladi

Ndayebo said the Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Bababngida directed that both days be used to pray for the girls as well as the nation "Owing to the security situation in the country, Gov. Babangida Aliyu has directed that this year’s Children’s Day and Democracy Day be used to seek God’s face and intervention for the nation. The Ministry for Gender Affairs and Social Development will mobilise children on that day across the state to pray for the release of the girls abducted
by Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno State.” He said

AFRIMMA releases nominees list

The nomination list and voting for the African Music Magazine Awards(AFRIMMA) have been released

The awards which celebrates the beauty of African music and artistry, will take place  on Saturday, July 26, 2014 at the Eisemann Center in Dallas, Texas in the United States.

The event honours Africans on the continent and in the Diaspora.

 Best Male (West Africa) Wizkid (Nigeria)
Iyanya (Nigeria)
Sarkodie (Ghana)
Dj Arafat (Ivory Coast)
Davido (Nigeria)
Shatta Wale (Ghana)
Flavour Nabania (Nigeria)

Best Female (West Africa)
Tiwa Savage (Nigeria)
Chidimma(Nigeria)
Viviane Chidid (Senegal)
Teeyah (Ivory Coast)
Sessima (Benin)
Efya (Ghana)

Best Male (East Africa)
Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania)
Ben Pol (Tanzania)
Bebe Cool (Uganda)
Wyre (Kenya)
Navio (Uganda)
Jackie Gosee (Ethiopia)

Best Female (East Africa)
Rema (Uganda)
Aster Aweke (Ethiopia)
Avril (Kenya)
Lady Jaydee (Tanzania)
Victoria Kimani (Kenya)
Irene Ntale (Uganda)


Best Male (Central Africa)
Fally Ipupa (DR Congo)
Stanley Enow (Cameroon)
Ferre Gola (Congo)
Privato “Lill’P” Niyintunze (Burundi)
Anselmo Ralph (Angola)
Sine (Cameroon)

Best Female (Central Africa)
Arielle T (Gabon)
Suzanna Lubrano (Cape Verde)
Gasha (Cameroon)
Lady Ponce ( Cameroon)
Ceuzeny (Cape Verde)
Ary (Angola)

Best Male (Southern Africa)
Aka (South Africa)
Zeus (Botswana)
Donald (South Africa)
Slap Dee (Zambia)
Khuli Chana (South Africa)
Stunner (Zimbabwe)
Tha Dogg (Namibia)

Best Female (Southern Africa)
Lira (South Africa)
Toya De Lazy (South Africa)
Judy (Zambia)
Zahara (South Africa)
Kearoma Rantao (Botswana)
Lizha James (Mozambique)

Best Male (Diaspora)
Lira (South Africa)
Toya De Lazy (South Africa)
Judy (Zambia)
Zahara (South Africa)
Kearoma Rantao (Botswana)
Lizha James (Mozambique)

Best Female (Diaspora)
Miriam Chemmoss (Kenya)
Mayra Andrade (Cape Verde)
Bumi Thomas (Nigeria)
STL (Kenya)
Les Nubians(Cameroun)
Nneka (Nigeria)
Dencia (Cameroon)

Best African Group
Psquare (Nigeria)
Mafikizolo (South Africa)
R2bee’s (Ghana)
Bracket (Nigeria)
Radio and Weasel (Uganda)
Toofan (Togo)
Sauti Sol (Kenya)
Best Dancehall Artiste
Samini (Ghana)
Wyre (Kenya)
Timaya (Nigeria)
MC Norman (Uganda)
Dr. Jose Chameleon (Uganda)
Shatta Wale (Ghana)

Best Gospel Artiste
Nikki Laoye (Nigeria)
Sonnie Badu (Ghana)
Icha kavons (Congo)
Bahati (Kenya)
Ntokozo Mbambo (South Africa)
Emmy Kosgei (Kenya)
Uche Agu (Nigeria)

Best Dance In A Video
Iyanya – Lekwa Ukwu
Kcee – Limpopo
Guru – Alkayida
Davido – Skelewu
P-Square – Personally

Best Traditional Artiste
Flavour (Nigeria)
Kwabena Kwabena (Ghana)
Bassekou Kouyate (Mali)
Sayicology (South Africa)
Mrisho Topo (Tanzania)
Stanlux (Togo)
Tunakie (Namibia)

Best Newcomer
Stanley Enow (Cameroon)
Nakhane Toure (South Africa)
Joey B (Ghana)
Phyno (Nigeria)
Eddy Kenzo (Uganda)
Sage (Kenya)

Best Video Director
Clarence Peters (Nigeria)
Ogopa DJ’s (Kenya)
Patrick Elis (Nigeria)
Klasszik & JKP STUDIO (Angola)
Pharoah Films (Ghana)
Godfather (South Africa)

Best African DJ (USA)
DJ Shinski (Kenya)
DJ Josh (Kenya)
DJ Fully Focus (Kenya)
DJ Amin (Ethiopia)
DJ Dee Money (NG/US)
DJ Ronnie (GH/US)
Dj Ecool (Nigeria)

Best DJ Africa
Dj Jimmy Jatt (Nigeria)
Dj Exclusive (Nigeria)
Dj Joe Mfalme (Kenya)
Dj Cndo (South Africa)
Dj Black (Ghana)
Dj Creme de la Creme (Kenya)
DJ Shiru (Uganda)

Best Video of the Year
Psquare – Personally
Sarkodie – Illuminati
Mafikizolo ft Uhuru – Khona
Diamond Platnumz – Number One
Flavour – Ada Ada
Anselmo Ralph – Unica Mulher

Music Producer of the Year
Shizzi (Nigeria)
Killbeatz (Ghana)
Dj Oskido (South Africa)
Nash Wonder (Uganda)
Sheddy Clever (Tanzania)
Ogopa (Kenya)
Don Jazzy (Nigeria)

Best Rap Act
Sarkodie (Ghana)
AKA (South Africa)
Olamide (Nigeria)
Phyno (Nigeria)
Octopizzo (Kenya)
M.anifest (Ghana)
Zeus (Botswana)

Best Collaboration
2face ft Tpain
Diamondz ft Davido – Number One Remix
Mafikizolo ft Uhuru – Khona
Dr Sid ft Don Jazzy, Phyno, Wizkid – Surulere Remix
Amani ft Radio and Weasel – ‘Kiboko Changu’ (Kenya/Uganda)
Jmartins ft DJ Arafat – Touching body
R2bess and Wizkid – Slow down

Best Dance Group
CEO Dancers
Unique Silver Dancers
Afro Mask
Imagineto Dance Company
D3 Dancers

Song of the Year
Davido – Skelewu (Nigeria)
Mafikizolo feat Uhuru – Khona (South Africa)
KCee – Limpopo (Nigeria)
P Square – Personally (Nigeria)
Yuri Da Cunha – Atchu Tchu Tcha (Angola)
Fuse ODG feat Wyclef – Antenna Remix (Ghana)
L.A.X feat Wizkid – Caro (Nigeria)
Diamond feat Davido – Number One Remix (Tanzania)

Artiste of the Year
Flavour (Nigeria)
Davido (Nigeria)
Diamond (Tanzania)
Sarkodie (Ghana)
Mafikizolo (South Africa)
Wizkid (Nigeria)
Anselmo Ralph – A Dor do Cupido (Angola)
Jaguar (Kenya)

Australian Prime Minister- Tony Abbott faces fierce backlash over radio wink

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday expressed regret at winking during a testy radio chat with a pensioner who works on a sex phone line, as he battled a fierce backlash.

A video feed from the studio showed the conservative leader winking and grinning to the programme's host when the female caller revealed what she did to make ends meet, as she complained about swingeing budget cuts imposed by Abbott's government.
Abbott, who was the target of a fiery misogyny speech by former leader Julia Gillard that went viral in 2012, said the wink was to signal he was happy to proceed with the call.
But as a political and social media furore grew over the incident, he admitted it was wrong.
"I shouldn't have done it... I should have been more focused on the caller and less focused on the interviewer," he told the Nine Network.
Asked if he was being disparaging towards the woman, he said no.
"Mistakes are always regrettable ... and I will do my best having made a mistake yesterday to make none today," he said.

'Tony's at it again'
Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten said Abbott had lost touch with the electorate.
"I'm sure the prime minister's minders would've had a collective forehead-slapping moment, and said, 'oh my goodness, Tony's at it again'," Shorten said.
"I don't know what was going through his mind then. It just shows how out of touch the prime minister is. "
The Greens called on Abbott to step down from his dual role as the government's minister for women.
"We need a minister for women who is actually a woman and who is prepared to stand up for women - not simply dismiss their problems with a wink and a smirk," Greens Senator Larissa Waters said.
The Abbott government's first budget, handed down last week, axed health and education spending while tightening welfare benefits to help bring the deficit under control.
The caller, Gloria, told him she was a struggling 67-year-old pensioner with three chronic, incurable medical conditions, two life-threatening.
"I just survive on around $369 a fortnight after I pay my rent and I work on an adult sex line to make ends meet. That's the only way I can do it," she said.
She called back to ABC radio on Thursday to say she was glad the wink had got so much coverage.
When the presenter said the incident had been curious, she replied: "Curious is not the word ... sleazy, slimy." She later labelled Abbott "a stupid man".

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, the only woman in Abbott's cabinet, came to his defence, denying his wink was sexist.
"I think people are far too quick to judge others through this prism of everything being about misogyny or sexism," she said, adding that he always treated her with respect.
It has been a bad week for Abbott with opinion polls showing his popularity has plunged since the budget was released.

'Bird-woman' crash lands in Lagos

An elderly woman escaped lynching on Wednesday after being accused of being a bird and witch in the Ajegunle area of Lagos State, Vanguard reports.

According to residents of Ojo Road, where the purported transformation took place, the woman was a black bird before suddenly turning into a human being.

The woman who confessed to being a witch said three of them were sent to Lagos from Ibadan on a mission, but lost their track, which made her to crash land on a truck after hovering in air for hours.

Hundreds of residents were said to have gathered around the woman to lynch her but the intervention of the police.

Speaker orders Reps to resume oil minister’s probe

Abuja - The Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Wednesday, directed the Public Accounts  Committee to investigate the alleged N10 billion spent by the Petroleum Resources Minister on chartered aircraft.
The House had on March 27 mandated the Public Accounts committee to investigate the minister, Deziani Allison-Madueke, for allegedly using state funds in the last two years to charter, operate and maintain a jet for personal use.
The probe, which was expected to begin on March 28, was suspended on alleged court order.
Tambuwal, who was reacting to a newspaper publication that he ordered the suspension of the investigation, gave the directive at plenary in Abuja.
He explained that at no point did he ordered the suspension of the investigation based on the order of the court, adding that it was only put on hold to seek legal advice.
"I directed that the investigation should be put on hold until some of the legal issues were sorted out.
"I therefore direct that the matter should continue and the committee should turn in their report," he said.

Where are we heading, Nigeria? Graphic pic: Over 200 killed this afternoon 20th of may, 2014 in Jos twin bomb blast

  Two bomb explosions have occurred this afternoon at the densely populated Terminus Market near Murtala Mohammed way in Jos. The twin explosion, which occurred 30 minutes apart reportedly killed at least 200 people according to eye-witnesses, making it deadlier than the Nyanya blast.

The bomb was planted in two cars, a Peugeot J5 van and a Toyota Sienna SUV with a Gombe state license plate number. Eye-witnesses said the car had been parked near the busy market since early this morning and had even drawn the curiosity of people in the area who allegedly alerted the police. It exploded many hours later. See a pic of some bodies being removed from the scene after the cut

 

Paul Walker's Brother Shooting Unfinished 'Fast and Furious' Scenes

 

 

Paul Walker's brother Cody made Malibu beachgoers do a double take Monday as he shot scenes with Tyrese, Vin Diesel, Ludacris and Michelle Rodriguez for "Fast and Furious 7."

Cody is filling in the gaps ... shooting Paul's unfinished scenes. As TMZ first reported, Cody and his brother Caleb will also do voice work to match Paul.

Walker died November 30 while the film was still in production.

Just Heard this news: Kardashian Girls File Criminal Battery Report Over Confetti Attack!

Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian have basket balls ... they've actually filed a battery report claiming  some clown dared to make it rain all over them -- with confetti.

The "attack" occurred last month.  Richie the Barber -- who by the way gives an awesome haircut -- was riding his unicycle on Melrose when he spotted the chicks.  Richie, who often juggles bowling pins while riding his contraption -- made a beeline for the girls and dumped confetti over their heads.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2014/05/20/khloe-kourtney-kardashian-clown-confetti-battery-police-report/#ixzz32Ge51eqZ

Khloe and Kourtney didn't see the humor, and immediately filed a police report.  Our law enforcement sources privately scoffed at the complaint and we're told they did nothing to pursue it because it was so frivolous.

But fast forward to 3 days ago.  Khole and Kourtney followed up and told cops they wanted to pursue criminal charges. 

So we're told detectives then called Richie and asked him one question:  "Were you trying to harm them by throwing confetti."  Richie said he meant no harm and only threw the confetti bomb to "congratulate them on their success."

We're guessing the case will now take a fast train to nowhere. Richie didn't sound too concerned yesterday when he told us about the run-in with K&K.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2014/05/20/khloe-kourtney-kardashian-clown-confetti-battery-police-report/#ixzz32GeFdkVE

It is about to be a Great Beginning for these guys: Made Men Music Group's The Evolution album drops 29th May 2014

The anticipation is finally over! One of Africa’s freshest hit making music labels, Made Men Music Group, has released the first official group album titled, ‘The Evolution’. The Evolution is a title that makes reference to the portrayal of how the artistes have evolved the industry through their new age sound and production.

Label CEO Ubi Franklin referred to ‘The Evolution’, as a gift to fans through music across Africa and the world. International singing sensation, Iyanya, who is also a co-owner of the label expressed that, “This project portrays the different talent that we posses within our camp through music production and vocal range, and I’m very honored to be apart of this Album and the Triple MG enterprise.”  Iyanya, who never disappoints on a record, made his vocal presence felt on songs like ‘Mr. Oreo’ and ‘Poko’, hammering home the point that he remains one of a few artistes in Africa who has the ability to sing and switch his style which enables him to entertain at the same time. Continue..

The Evolution shines the spotlight on all the acts on the label, giving a glimpse of their varying talents. Iyanya and Emma Nyra, are joined by new recruits Selebobo, Tekno Miles and Baci. With something on the album for every music fan, ‘The Evolution’ is a celebration of the current genres of popular music that ranges from, Afrobeats, Afropop, Highlife, Hip Hop and R&B, which are all enjoyed by African music lovers.  This debut album also ensures that all the different sounds of music are served to the public covering everything from the dance floor (up tempo), to the bedroom (slow tempo). Through singles like ‘Say Yeah’ featuring the entire stable, this album guarantees listeners the opportunity to enjoy Triple MG’s stars at their music making best.

The 14-track Evolution Album also portrays a different side to Triple MG’s First Lady, Emma Nyra, who is known for her incredible vocal ability. On tracks like ‘Amigo’ and ‘Zamina’, the sexy singer shows why she is touted as one of the top female voices in the business giving fans a reason to click the repeat button over and over again.

Bursting onto the music scene, are two fantastic young artistes named Selebobo and Tekno Miles, who portray their production skills within the camp, and are both key elements in the arrangement and selection of beats, which makes for an awesome listening experience for the fans. Selebobo, who is well known within the music industry as a singer/producer, took his all round quality to another level while displaying key elements of why he was snatched up by the record label through songs like ‘Poko’ and ‘Asampete’. Tekno Miles, who is another fresh signee is able to portray his vocal range on songs like, ‘Ocho’, as well as his production prowess on the song, (INSERT TEKNO SONG HERE). Finally, the label introduces another fresh face to the camp who goes by the name of Baci. Baci, who specializes in Pop and R&B, is able to show off his range in the first single off the album entitled, ‘Angelina’ which features vocal prowess from label-mate Iyanya to further entice fans. Overall, ‘The Evolution’ is a project that will display the genuine love of music that each of these artistes represents from each of their respected areas throughout the diaspora. Music lovers are invited to sit back, relax, and enjoy the official release of ‘The Evolution’ better known as Triple MG’s musical gift to the world.

Quite Pathetic: ''The Shield" actor Michael Jace arrested for killing his wife of 9 years.

US actor Michael Jace has been arrested for shooting his wife dead at their South Los Angeles home. According to reports, the actor, best known for his role on The Shield as Julien Lowe, a gay police officer struggling with his sexual identity, called 911 late last night Monday May 19th and confessed to shooting his wife of nine years.

When police got to their home at Brynhurst Avenue in Hyde Park, they were met by Michael Jace, 51, and discovered April Jace, 40, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, NBC reports.

April Jace was declared dead by paramedics at the scene. The couple's two children, both boys under the age of 10, were in the home at the time of the shooting but LA police said it is unclear whether the boys witnessed the shooting and still do not know why the actor shot his wife dead. Continue...

Pics from his arrest

 He was booked 3am early this morning...