Nigerian Times

25 Feb 2013 14:30 Africa/Lagos 14-Year-Old Author Christopher Huh Debuts Keeping My Hope , A Historical Fiction Graphic Novel About the Holocaust GERMANTOWN, Md., Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Christopher Huh, an 8th grade middle school student, has just published a new hand-drawn historical fiction graphic novel about the Holocaust, Keeping My Hope . To write Keeping My Hope , Christopher spent over 1,000 hours conducting research on WWII and the Holocaust. It took him about a year and a half to complete the book. The storyline circles around the life of Ari. Ari is a teenager whose entire life is turned upside down by the horrors of the Holocaust. He and his family are torn apart and moved to Auschwitz, where the reader gains an inside look at what prisoners in the concentration camps suffered through. However, even with these atrocities, the power of friendship shines through and gives Ari hope to keep surviving through the darkest blizzards of terror. Informative yet touchi...

Darey Art-Alade posing with Kim Kardashian on the red carpet of his Love Like A Movie concert on Sunday February 17, 2013, at the Convention Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos. Kim Kardashian and the Idiots She Fooled in Nigeria Millions of angry Nigerians are still criticizing Kim Kardashian ’s controversial visit to Nigeria where she earned her biggest pay check for appearances as she was reportedly paid a whooping $500,000! for her fleeting 24 hours visit to Nigeria according to The Mail of UK . Kim has never been paid even half of that amount for an all night appearance in Hollywood! She makes from $20,000 - $200,000 only for celebrity appearances at ticket events by richer organizers. The poster showing Kim Kardashian. “These Nigerians must be idiots,” said a celebrity news reporter in Hollywood. “Kim really fooled them,” chuckled another news reporter. “Well, it’s a kind of nemesis catching up with these Nigerians who are notorious for thei...

Best Picture Winner: Argo Best Actor in a Leading Role Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) Best Actress in a Leading Role Winner: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) Best Director Winner: Ang Lee (Life of Pi) According to Reuters , Ben Affleck's Argo made it the first time since "Driving Miss Daisy" in 1990 that a film won the top prize at the Oscars without its director also being nominated. Argo also won the Oscars for best film editing and best adapted screenplay. Well, we might as well call this year the Year of "Argo" as "Argo" has won almost all the coveted awards and winning the Best Picture Oscar when the director Ben Affleck was not even nominated for Best Director is a great achievement at the 85th Academy Awards by winning three Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture, to add to the Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture in Drama and Best Director, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in ...

21 Feb 2013 10:30 Africa/Lagos The Skyfall's the Limit for Turkey at the Oscars LONDON, February 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 24, the great and good of the silver screen will assemble at Hollywood's Kodak theatre for the 85th annual Academy Awards. One of the surprise stars of this year's awards, however, is not an A-list celeb, but a destination. As a result of its leading role in the latest instalment of the Bond franchise, Skyfall, Turkey is sure to be the country on everyone's minds as Adele takes to the stage to sing her Oscar-nominated song of the same title. Nominated for five Academy Awards, Skyfall is set to be the most critically acclaimed Bond film to date; and it's widely acknowledged by the industry that the opening scenes in Istanbul provide the best ever opening sequence to a Bond film. They have certainly got the industry talking, with the Turkish city now a popular destination with celebs. According to the UK's favourite ho...

Photo of U.S. President Barack Obama posing as a powerful African Juju warrior in a Nollywood movie. Ask any of the popular Nollywood actors and actresses and their prolific producers the titles of all their movies and I can bet you that majority of them will fail to even remember the titles and story lines of 20 of their 50 to 100 movies they will boast of making. Imagine Steven Spielberg or even Tyler Perry not remembering the titles of any of his films? That would a clear case of amnesia. The fact that many Nollywood actors, actresses and producers cannot remember the titles and even story lines of their movies is enough proof of the emptiness of their productions. Nobody forgets a good movie. It is an ordeal to watch many Nollywood mvoies, because you may have headaches. Majority of the Nollywood movies shown at the local cinemas have no business at any real movie theatre, because most of them are teleplays and in fact there are some I would call a scam to collect N1, 500...

"Such misrepresentation of what Jesus, peace be upon him, stands for is extremely offensive to Muslims and to all those who believe in his message. While we understand the use of shocking imagery and bizarre juxtapositions to provoke a humorous response, we believe such a distasteful portrayal of a religious figure revered by billions of Muslims and Christians worldwide crosses the comedic line. "We strongly support free speech rights for all, but one would hope that common decency and respect for the beliefs of others would help avoid such unfortunate depictions. " ~ Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), February 19, 2013. The producers of the Saturday Night Live “Djesus Uncrossed” skit are low in imagination. Only lazy producers would have done such a satire that shows the poor imagination of the producers and misguided rationale. Any dummy could have done it and they deliberately picked on the personality of Jesus Christ, because they know that even i...

19 Feb 2013 15:00 Africa/Lagos Five Books Advance to the 2013 Lionel Gelber Prize Shortlist TORONTO and WASHINGTON, February 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Patricia Rubin, President of the Lionel Gelber Prize Board, today announced the 2013 prize shortlist: Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956 by Anne Applebaum (Washington, DC and Poland) The Second Nuclear Age: Strategy, Danger, and the New Power Politics by Paul Bracken (Connecticut, USA) Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else by Chrystia Freeland (New York City, USA) Ghosts of Empire: Britain 's Legacies in the Modern World by Kwasi Kwarteng (London, England) From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia by Pankaj Mishra (London, England) "These five books offer fresh perspectives from the past that bring deeper understanding of current global issues, and compelling perspectives on the future that speak of things to come. The wisdom of this...

PRESS RELEASE: The Nigeria Police Force has performed averagely since the current IGP took over office PRESS RELEASE The Nigeria Police Force has performed averagely since the current IGP took over office Abuja, Nigeria. February 18, 2013 – Latest weekly poll results released by NOI Polls Limited have revealed that 43% of Nigerians are of the opinion that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has performed averagely in providing security since the current IGP, M.D. Abubakar, took over office. Also, the most significant issues affecting the performance of the Nigeria Police Force are corruption in the rank and file, as well as poor salary and welfare package . These were two key findings from the recent poll conducted on the Police Force in the week commencing February 12th 2013. Respondents to the poll were asked five specific questions. The first question sought to establish the performance of the Police Force since the current Inspector General of Police (IGP) assumed office. Resp...

Tony Abulu's blockbuster "Doctor Bello" has secured major American cinema distribution according a press release on Tuesday February 19, 2013. The following is the complete report. 19 Feb 2013 14:35 Africa/Lagos Black Ivory Communications Signs Exclusive U.S. Theatrical Distribution Deal with AMC Theatres for Release of 'Doctor Bello' NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning February 22nd to 27th, 2013, "Doctor Bello", the latest Tony Abulu produced and directed film, will show exclusively at AMC Theatres®. "Doctor Bello" is the first film to be released under an exclusive theatrical distribution partnership between AMC Theatres and Black Ivory Communications, a multi-faceted media firm specializing in film production, entertainment, and tourism. Coinciding with Black History Month, "Doctor Bello's" unprecedented theatrical release marks the first ever in the U.S. for Nollywood films -- the bustling Nigerian f...

Countering terrorism overseas LONDON, 14 February 2013 / PRNewswire Africa / - Foreign Secretary William Hague speaks about countering terrorism overseas. Originally given at Royal United Services Institute. This is a transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered. “On January 16th a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb attacked a gas production facility in the Algerian desert. Thirty-nine hostages from nine countries died, including six British nationals. It was the largest and most complex attack affecting UK citizens since the 7/7 bombings. It naturally raises questions about the threat posed by Al Qaeda and its affiliates, and how we work with others to reduce that threat. The United Kingdom has a long experience of confronting terrorism, and we have some of the finest Intelligence Agencies and police forces in the world. They stop terrorists from entering our borders, they detect and stop terrorist attack plans, and prevent potential recruit...

Zimbabwe: Women make easy prey for corrupt politicians BERLIN, 15 February 2013 / PRNewswire Africa / - Politicians in Zimbabwe are taking advantage of the fact women face existing legal limitations. Research shows that women, who often have lower incomes, have limited access to basic public services because they are less likely to pay bribes to get the services. This makes it difficult for them to acquire registration documents like a mining licence or a permit to sell gold, especially in countries like Zimbabwe where corruption is endemic. Tradition further renders women vulnerable when many consider that women cannot hold land titles (see this research). Land ownership would enable them to gain access to natural resources, such as gold. Yet, to do so women are forced to accept help from politicians. Unfortunately most of these so called ‘lifelines' from politicians are actually corrupt vote-buying schemes. Transparency International Zimbabwe came across one of these vo...