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NIGERIAN STARS SHINE AT MAMAs |
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Written by Richard Ologbosere
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Thursday, 22 October 2009 17:59 |
Nigerian Stars continue to outshine their other African colleagues in different fields of endeavour, this they proved again last weekend at the just concluded MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) ceremony held at the Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
Hosted by ace Singer and music Producer Wyclef Jean, Nigerian Artistes carted away five out of the eleven awards, leaving the rest for their other black and afro American counterparts. Nigeria’s D’banj, a.k.a koko Master again emerged as the Artist of the year for the second consecutive time running, while 2face Idibia beat Darey Art alade and America’s Akon and Beyonce to clinch the best RnB award.
Mr Incredible popularly known as M.I, the new rap and Lyricist sensation in Nigeria beat Jay Z, Kanye West, and Bigiano alongside two other Africans to win the awards for best Hip Hop artiste of the year and best New Act. The duo of the twin brothers Peter and Paul a.k.a Psquare took home the best group award.
Other winners of the Awards include Nameless from Kenya who won best male award, Amani also from Kenya who clinched the best Female award. Ghanaian Samini beat Nigeria’s D’banj and Psquare to win the best Performer award, while Zebra & Giraffe from South Africa took home the Best alternative award.
Best Video ( Mpitse) was won by HHP of South Africa, while Nameless again from Kenya won the best Listener’s Choice with his song “Sunshine” .Tributes were paid to both South African freedom fighter and reggae star Lucky Dube- who was murdered in 2007- and the King of Pop Michael Jackson as Akon ans Wyclef performed one of his popular tracks.
It wasn’t just an award night but also a night of glitz, glamour and entertainment at its fullest as both the pair of Wyclef and Akon took the event by storm by first doing 25 one-legged press ups each followed by a back flip. The challenges then got more x-rated as the stars both stripped off, at this point the cheering crowd went wao!
This year’s classic event which took place on 10th October, was sponsored by zain, one of the world’s largest telecommunications giant. There would be a Global TV premiere of MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain on the 17th of October. So, don’t miss all the cheers, wins, glitz and glamour of the awards night.
We say a big congratulations to all Winners and even those who got nominated but didn’t win.
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Last Updated on Friday, 23 October 2009 14:02 |
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ADE BANTU NOMINATED FOR 2009 CHANNEL O MUSIC AWARDS |
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Written by C Okereke
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Thursday, 22 October 2009 17:53 |
Call him unusual with his style of music and you would not be mistaken. With a unique sound that seeks to promote the African essence, Ade Bantu is bringing accolades to Nigeria. With his recent nomination in the 2009 Channel O Music Video Awards, another plus for the Nigerian music industry I must say. Let’s find out about how he was nominated and what he feels concerning the nomination.
I was nominated for the Best Dance Hall Reggae Video category based on the video of 'We are the Water,' which was directed by a German filmmaker. It was very experimental and I will say it is one of my best videos to date that is why I was happy to hear it was nominated for the award.
He explains the background of the song and video like this “The song is based on two things; there is a dancehall where everybody says burn down Babylon so what I was asking was if you burn down everything what remains. If you answer pressure with more pressure, is that the solution? And at the same time I am being a bit cynical about politics and politicians, about phobias where people just basically exploit other people's fear like 9/11, fear of religious violence and so on.
For the video “Basically, I walk around with a frame, which serves as a doorway that allows me to go from one world to another. At one point you see me in a surreal environment with ghosts around me who are invoking the spirit of destruction then the very next moment you see me jumping around on the road elsewhere. The whole idea was to work with a lot of special effects; I am like in five different worlds at the same time always moving in and out. Kind of like a ghost but with my physical form because the idea is to walk like a spirit who can transcend all barriers”.
On how he feels he says “I never really went for the award but we sent the video to Channel O because it is my favourite music video channel, they have been there for a very long time and within this time they have tried their best to really represent Africa. What was encouraging was the fact that when we sent the video, one of the heads of departments sent an email immediately that said 'I love this video, I want to put it on rotation,' so that was a sign that we did the right thing and the nomination was the icing on the cake”.
Though he has gotten other nominations in Africa, he describes the nomination as the icing on the cake because “it confirms that I am on the right track. I never try to do what the next man is doing, musically or in terms of the visuals. I was daring and it got a nomination and that for me, is a win. If I do get the plaque that would be great but if I don't then I am still content because what I did was appreciated by those who know how to appreciate quality”.
The nominees for the 2009 Channel O Music video awards were announced at a Press conference held at Melrose Arch, Johannesburg in July 2009. The awards would be held at Carnival City, Guateng with nominees from all over Africa to slug it out in 14 categories. We do hope that Ade Bantu emerges as one of the winners.
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Adewale Akinnuoye at the UK Film Council US Post Oscars Brunch |
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Written by Fashionista Juls
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Tuesday, 12 May 2009 12:35 |
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(EXCLUSIVE) Actors Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Julian Sands pose at the UK Film Council US Post Oscars Brunch 2009 at Cecconi's in West Hollywood, California. 
 Fashion designer Ozwald Boateng and actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje  Actors Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Julian Sands pose with Chalire Chapman, excutive director UK Film Council US and Baz Bamigboye, entertainment journalist at the UK Film Council US Post Oscars Brunch 
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US Doctors for Africa honors First Lady of Africa |
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Written by C Okereke
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Monday, 11 May 2009 13:58 |
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Naomi Campbell attended the event along with several other celebrities. 
Model Naomi Campbell arrives at the US Doctors for Africa honoring the First Ladies of Africa Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 21, 2009 in Beverly Hills California First ladies from Africa met in Los Angeles where they have been discussing women's health and education, AIDS and others challenges facing their continent. The meeting convened by the groups African Synergy and U.S. Doctors for Africa drew on Hollywood star power to promote its message.
They include the first ladies of Angola, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia. First ladies from 15 nations had planned to attend the health summit, with representatives from another six African countries, including South Africa.
The first lady of California, Maria Shriver, wife of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was there to greet them.
The first ladies have spent two days meeting with representatives of non-governmental organizations, companies that do business in Africa and development groups to discuss health care and issues affecting women.
There were celebrities on hand, including some with some knowledge of Africa. Danny Glover has been there many times in his role as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations children's and development programs. Actress Sharon Stone recently went to Uganda to see the drilling of new wells. The wells provide clean water for drinking, sanitation and food preparation, something that is crucial to fight the spread of disease. She spoke at a news conference last week in advance of the meeting.
"The clean water exists right below the surface of the ground," said Sharon Stone. "And we have the opportunity to create it, to drill the well, to give the water, to make the irrigation system so that there is food. We have the opportunity to give the toilets instead of the pit latrine. We have the opportunity to stop the cholera and death and dying."
Television star Joely Fisher is honorary ambassador for the non-profit organization Save the Children, and she visited Mozambique last year. She says the group is working to help girls orphaned by AIDS, who are now in many cases the main support for their families.
"Trying to put in wells of better clean water for them, trying to open up schools all over the country," said Joely Fisher. "And they love the school. They are so excited they sang about their pencils and their books. And to empower them as women so that the same thing doesn't happen to this generation."
The African First Ladies Health Summit was organized by the groups African Synergy and U.S. Doctors for Africa. U.S. Doctors for Africa founder Ted Alemayhu, an immigrant from Ethiopia, says he hopes the meeting will reengage Americans and others in African development and health issues.
"People are not paying too much attention any more because of the global economy, a number of other things," said Ted Alemayhu. "Even with that challenge, we still have to bring the issue of health care that Africa is suffering from on the global scale."
Jean Stephane Biatcha of Cameroon is executive director of the organization African Synergy Against AIDS and Suffering, which was formed by 22 African first ladies. He says they hope to enlist help from Hollywood stars, corporate executives and development specialists in meeting the challenges of their countries.
"I am sure that after these two days of meetings, people will know more about what they do and we will surely see people more interested in one or two projects that they intend to carry out," said Jean Stephane Biatcha. "And maybe they will go back with something concrete."
One Hollywood actress, Amy Brenneman, admits she knows little about Africa but says she hopes to learn.
"I feel like I'm a real student, especially with African issues," said Amy Brenneman. "I work with organizations that are concerned about the well-being of women and girls here in the U.S. and different places, but I am really a student when it comes to Africa, so I'm just really thrilled to be here and learn."
The newly appointed U.S. ambassador at large for Global Women's Issues, Melanne Verveer, pledged the support of the Obama administration in combating HIV-AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases, and addressing issues such as maternal health care.
Ted Alemayhu of U.S. Doctors for Africa says he hopes to watch newscasts several years from now without hearing about millions of Africans dying from preventable diseases, as they do now. 
L-R) Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and model Naomi Campbell ABOUT USDFA US Doctors for Africa is a humanitarian organization committed to increasing access to medical care for diseases and conditions affecting the people of Africa. By mobilizing and distributing medical manpower, supplies, and equipment to medical institutions throughout the continent of Africa, we are able to provide medical and preventative healthcare and capacity-building to regions of Africa without available medical services. US Doctors for Africa believes that healthcare is a basic human right, and recognizes that a healthy population is essential for growth, development, and prosperity in every society. RECENT NEWS: USDFA named First Lady of Cameroon as its Honorary President US Doctors for Africa (USDFA) to honor The President of The Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency Jakaya M. Kikwete on May 20th, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Kikwete is known by most as one of most respected and forward thinking leaders in Africa. As President of The Republic of Tanzania and as a former head of the African Union, Mr. Kikwete played a leading role in improving access to health care in Tanzania as well as through out the African Continent. 
USDFA in partnership with The Los Angeles World Affairs Council will honor President Kikwete on the evening of May 20th for his tireless effort in fighting poverty and for his creative approach in providing access to health care to the people of Tanzania
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Social Security Reports over 10000 name changed to Barack Obama |
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Written by Debbie Allen
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Monday, 11 May 2009 13:27 |
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Attributed to the election of President Barack Obama, the Social Security Administration is reporting that the name "Barack" sky-rocketed up its list of most popular baby names for 2008.
While it hasn't yet cracked the top 1,000 baby names, "Barack" jumped more than 10,000 spots from 12,535 in 2007 to 2,409 in 2008. The administration reports that it expects "Barack" to enter the top 1,000 for 2009.
More on President Obama President Barack Obama reacts to the comedy of Wanda Sykes as she entertains the crowd  President Barack Obama jokes about "speaking off the cuff" as the teleprompter stands are raised during the annual White House Correspondents' Association gala dinner May 9, 2009 at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC.  President Barack Obama (L) gestures toward an audience member as he speaks as Ed Chen, incoming WHCA president (C), and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs look on during the annual White House Correspondents' Association gala dinner this past weekend
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Last Updated on Monday, 11 May 2009 13:37 |
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