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Google has honoured Maya Angelou, late American writer, poet and civil rights activist with a beautiful doodle on her posthumous birthday at 90 on Wednesday.

Angelou, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” touched the lives of millions around the globe through her teachings, her writings, her voice, and her actions.

Angelou once said: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

The American writer, poet and civil rights activist touched the lives of millions around the globe through her teachings, her writings, her voice, and her actions.

She was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, in Missouri and raised in rural Arkansas.

Her life was blighted by tragedy aged just seven when a sexual assault rendered her mute for five years.

During that dark time, books and poetry became her solace and constant companions, eventually helping her find her voice again.

Angelou provided eloquent commentary on race, gender and living life to its fullest in writing which brought her wide acclaim.

She wrote more than 30 books and was a Grammy winner for three spoken-word albums.

Her memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” was published in 1969, and she went on to write a further six autobiographies as well as many books of poetry.

She worked on civil rights issues with leaders ranging from Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama and even became the first African-American woman to write a produced screenplay, “Georgia, Georgia”, in 1972.

Angelou read the poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at the 1993 inauguration of President Bill Clinton, and was honored in 2011 by Barack Obama with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

She lived in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she was a professor of American studies at Wake Forest University.

Angelou died at her home on May 28, 2014, aged 86.

Credit: Pulse News

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the latest cover star for the new issue of PORT Magazine and she is the first woman ever to appear on the cover of PORT, which was launched in 2011 as ‘the magazine for men’.

The cover story for the biannual style magazine was written by Catherine Lacey, and photos were taken by Mamadi Doumbouya.

The new issue, PORT’s 22nd, will be out on newsstands in mid-April.

Talking about putting a woman on the cover for the first time ever, Editor Dan Crowe says:

We launched as ‘the magazine for men’, and, while we’ve dropped that tagline (as it started to seem quite militant), we initially ran with accomplished men on the cover who we felt were under-considered by our youth-obsessed media. After we had established our brand and made this point, we chose to exercise more freedom.

We had wanted to feature the novelist Chimamanda Adichie for a while, but it took a long time to arrange. We’ll be featuring more woman and a younger guy (now that we’ve bucked the trend) from time to time in the future. But we will always have time for the iconic men associated with classic Port covers.

In the issue, Chimamanda talks about her extraordinary books, the complexity of recent gender movements and her next big project.

Speaking about choosing Chimamanda, the magazine wrote,

“The writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of the foremost intellectual voices in the United States today. The author of Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus and Americanah – as well as of one of the most viewed Ted talks in the organisation’s history, that was featured in a Beyoncé song – Adichie transcends the barriers between literature, art and music”

Top model, Naomi Campbell has been in Lagos over the past week for the ARISE Fashion Week. Prior to her visit, she posted on social media in anticipation of what she’s looking forward to doing in Nigeria, mentioning specifically how excited she was to meet the dance crew, Dream Catchers.

The dance crew have been gaining steady recognition from super stars such as Rihanna, Diddy, and Naomi Campbell as they all took to social media to appreciate these young children. The Dream Catchers are a group of young underprivileged kids, whose welfare — from education to shelter — is taken care of by the founder, Seyi Oluyole who uses dance to encourage them to stay in school.

Naomi Campbell had earlier announced on an Instagram live feed that she was only in Nigeria for Arise Fashion Week and to give back to society (specifically children).

Check out Naomi Campbell’s visit to the Dream Catchers right here:

On March 31st 2018, Nigerian singer Flavour organized a free concert in Enugu. However, many people that attended the concert claimed that many ladies were sexually assaulted and raped at Flavour’s concert.

The concert took place at Michael Okpara Square in Enugu and according to a Twitter user with the handle @Naturize9, women were assaulted, molested and raped during the show.

So, your favourite celebrity decided to give back to the community, made his concert free, but his fans (most) present at the Square, started to rape girls like it’s part of Flavour's concert in Enugu has been hit with sexual molestation and rape allegations

“They not only raped girls, but went in turns, protected the rapists from security agents and started to play with the victims’ undies! Please, someone tell me this is Sodom & Gomorrah” she wrote. You can read her full post below;

On Sunday, April 1, 2018, the Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, released a statement saying that police were investigating a case of alleged attempted rape during Flavour’s concert.

Amaraizu revealed that a suspect was in the custody of the police for attempting to rape a lady at Flavour’s concert.

The Enugu State Police Command, through its operatives at the Independence Layout Division, has commenced investigations into the alleged conduct of some people, ranging from attempt to gang rape a victim, as well as other offences, during a musical concert at the Michael Okpara Square.

One person, who is already helping operatives in their investigation, has been nabbed for his alleged role in the attempt to gang rape a victim at the Square yesterday during the musical concert of a popular Nigerian musician” read the statement.

The PRO also said that three people were arrested for allegedly stealing phones at the concert. “Those arrested will be made to face the music in line with various provisions and specifications of the law after investigations,” he said.

Flavour is yet to respond publicly to the allegations of rape at his concert.

M.A.C Cosmetics is keeping Aaliyah’s legacy alive with its latest makeup collection.

After teasing a potential collection inspired by the late R&B icon last year, the makeup brand announced that the line will be dropping later this year.

“Aaliyah super-fans everywhere – YOU made it happen! Inspired by your loyalty and love, the 90s-glam #AaliyahForMAC collection is coming soon! Aaliyah lives on in a makeup collection influenced by her groundbreaking work in music and film,” M.A.C wrote on its Instagram page.

In response to a fan’s tweet, M.A.C confirmed rumors that the collection will really drop online June 20th.

“Yes, the wait is almost over! #AaliyahforMAC arrives June 20 online and June 21 in stores,” the brand tweeted.

Not long after confirming its launch, M.A.C also gave the first sneak peek at a product in the line: a beautiful brown-nude ’90s-inspired lipstick.

“Guess which song inspired this colour!? Here’s a sneak peak at the M•A•C Aaliyah collection, coming soon! Aaliyah’s legacy continues to inspire fans – and now this 💄 shade!” M.A.C captioned its Instagram reveal.

Like all other limited edition M.A.C collections, the product comes in specially-designed packaging: a metallic dark burgundy with the singer’s signature across the top in silver lettering.

Three years ago, a fan created a petition on Change.org for M.A.C to honor Aaliyah with a makeup collection, and thanks to plenty of persistence, the line is actually coming to fruition.

“I remember signing the  petition years ago and NOW In 2018 is when she’s finally getting her own makeup like , Gets me teary eyed she so deserves this,” one fan tweeted.

Now fans of the R&B artist are already counting down the days until the highly-anticipated collection drops.

“So the #AaliyahForMAC collection is coming this summer. I don’t wear makeup but I plan on buying the collection simply because it’s Aaliyah,” one loyal fan said.

 

Culled from People.com

In November 2017,  Poets and  Writers announced that the 2018 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Awards will be given to Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, as well as Steve Cannon, and Richard Russo.

The Writers for Writers Award was established by Poets & Writers in 1996 to recognize authors who have given generously to other writers or to the broader literary community.

According to Poets & Writers,

“The three writers we honor this year have not only expanded our horizons through their own writing, they are dedicated to supporting other writers and to bringing diverse voices into the literary conversation.”

The award was presented at Poets & Writers’ annual dinner, In Celebration of Writers, on Wednesday evening, March 28, in New York City.

For the event which held Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who has been championing a “Wear Nigerian” campaign, was gorgeous in a black and yellow outfit from Nigerian brand Muse Factory.

 

Media personality and ‎chieftain of All Progressive Congress  (APC) Chief Amb. Ginika Tor Williams is set to contest in the Federal House Of Representative ring of Awgu. Aniri, Oji River Federal Constituency, in the forthcoming 2019 election.

Chief Amb. Ginika Tor-Williams is a TV personality, a media entrepreneur, brand management expert, income strategist, with vast experience in strategy and planning. She is a graduate of law from the University of Jos .

She is also the event consultant and manager for the Enugu State Fiesta by Enugu state Government through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

 

Credit: fabwoman.ng

 Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani activist for Girls’ Education and the World’s youngest Nobel laureate, returned to Pakistan early Thursday in her first visit since an attack by Taliban militants gravely injured her in 2012.
Her homecoming was wrapped in relative secrecy, and details of her visit have not been publicly confirmed.But Yousufzai, now 20 and studying at Oxford, is expected to stay mostly in Islamabad, the capital, during her four-day visit. She is said to be planning to meet with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and otherhigh-ranking civil and military officials.

She is also expected to visit the picturesque Swat Valley, her childhood home and the site of the Taliban attack against her, where she is to inaugurate a large school being built with aid from the Malala Fund, an advocacy organization for girls’ education worldwide that she founded in 2013.

A military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief the news media, said Yousufzai was expected to be accompanied by the Pakistani army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, on her visit to Swat. No separate confirmation of that was available.

Yousufzai and two other schoolgirls in Swat were pulled off their school bus and shot by Taliban militants in October 2012.

The attackers were specifically targeting her: Though only 15, she was already widely known for her advocacy for girls’ education, placing her in defiance of militant leaders who had banned such schooling in areas they controlled. One of the gunmen shouted “Who is Malala?” as he boarded the bus.

All three girls survived, but Yousufzai was critically injured, with a bullet grazing her brain and lodging in her neck. Doctors in Britain spent months rebuilding her skull, and she soon returned to her advocacy work — this time with a global audience of admirers. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

Despite that, she has been harshly criticized by some Pakistanis, particularly those on the far right who accuse her of being a dupe for the West’s agenda.

Security during her visit in Pakistan was heavy from the start, when she and her family arrived at Benazir Bhutto International Airport in the dark of the early morning.

The local news media reported that Yousufzai was brought to Islamabad with a large security contingent.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Credit: The New York Times, Pulse News

Mo Abudu, Ceo of EbonyLife TV has now in partnership with international production company Sony Pictures Television to distribute three television series around the world.

She wrote on her Instagram page,

“Beautiful people 💕💕 I am pleased to announce to you all, the good news that I promised to share with you.
EbonyLife Limited and Sony Pictures Television has signed a 3 year deal on 3 exciting scripted TV projects set to be distributed internationally, yes!! To networks around the world👏🏾👏🏾 The 3 year project deal is the first of its kind, between Sony Pictures and a Nigerian/African company.

Our 3 projects will include a TV series inspired by The Dahomey Warriors. This action packed series inspired by true events took place in the West African kingdom of Dahomey in 1890’s.

This is an empowering story of the all-female warriors from our continent!!! I could not be more proud as we developed this story👏🏾. I thank Sony for being such visionaries, for committing huge resources to this project. The plans for these projects are massive. To include A-listers as part of our cast. I am talking: Game of Thrones, Outlanders, Marco Polo. This is the level of support being made by Sony Pictures.

But what also gladdens my heart, is that there will also be great opportunities for cast and crew from across the continent to include Nigeria, of course,🇳🇬 This is a true partnership.

Thank you Sony Pictures TV for believing in us.

I have said time and time again, “if you can think it, you can do it”. My vision for EbonyLife has always been to take our stories to the world, and to change our narrative and now we have an opportunity to do this with a world-class organization such as Sony Pictures.
My Lord and God, thank you.🙏🏾🙏🏾 I congratulate the EbonyLife team on all the hard work that has brought us this far.

To my mum, my kids, sisters, friends, thank you all so much for your love, support, and prayers.

Hollywood here we come, meet Nollywood💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 In this picture with me are; Mark Young, Senior Vice President, Distribution & Sales UK, Ireland, Africa, Iberia at Sony Pictures and
Kunle Falodun, Vice President Distribution Africa – Sony Pictures.”

View her post below.