You Can Now Fly Non-Stop From Houston To Lagos

Yes, Johnny, you can now fly nonstop from Houston to Lagos!

Thanks to United Continental Holdings Incorporated, Houston and Lagos are now united with the first daily scheduled passenger service between Texas and Africa with new nonstop flights between Houston and Lagos, Nigeria. The service, operated by Continental Airlines, links the two energy capitals on a route which no other airline currently serves.



"The new flights offer convenient nonstop access to Lagos for travelers from Houston's vibrant energy sector and large Nigerian community, reducing roundtrip travel time between the two cities by more than six hours," said Jim Compton, United's executive vice president and chief revenue officer. "In addition, our Houston hub provides fast and easy connections from destinations across the U.S., and throughout Canada and Latin America."


Convenient Flight Schedule

Flight 142 departs Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport at 7:05 p.m. and arrives at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos at 1:40 p.m. the following day. On the return, flight 143 departs Lagos at 11:05 p.m., and arrives in Houston at 5:25 a.m. the following day. Flying times are approximately 11 hours, 35 minutes eastbound and 13 hours, 20 minutes westbound.

BusinessFirst Flat-Bed Seat

The flights will operate using Boeing 777 aircraft with a total of 276 seats -- 50 in BusinessFirst and 226 in Economy. The 777 aircraft feature new, flat-bed seats in the BusinessFirst cabin. The seat, reclining 180 degrees and providing 6 feet 6 inches of sleeping space in the fully extended position, is one of the widest business-class seats in the air, measuring up to 27 inches when the adjustable armrest is positioned flush with the seat cushion.

In addition to the flat-bed seat, BusinessFirst amenities include a state-of-the-art personal inflight entertainment system, gourmet menu selections, with Nigerian cuisine options on westbound flights, and an award-winning wine and champagne selection.

Economy class on the 777 is also comfortable and spacious, in a 3-3-3 seating configuration with wider-than-usual aisles. All seats on the Boeing 777 feature an Audio/Video On Demand (AVOD) inflight entertainment system, which enables customers to choose from 250 movies, 300 TV shows and 3,000 audio tracks with a jukebox feature to make individual playlists. In addition, this entertainment system has 25 video games and the interactive Berlitz Word Traveler foreign language program. All seat rows are equipped with in-seat power outlets, which do not require an adapter.

About Lagos

Lagos is the economic, commercial and cultural center of Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. The metropolitan area, an estimated 300 square kilometers located on the Atlantic coast of Africa, is a group of islands endowed with creeks and a lagoon. Lagos is Nigeria's leading port, particularly for imports of consumer goods, foodstuffs, motor vehicles, machinery and industrial raw materials, with more than half of Nigeria's industrial capacity located in Lagos's mainland suburbs.

About United Continental Holdings, Inc.

United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) is the holding company for both United Airlines and Continental Airlines. Together with United Express, Continental Express and Continental Connection, these airlines operate an average of 5,717 flights a day to 376 airports on six continents from their hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark Liberty, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. United and Continental are members of Star Alliance, which offers more than 21,200 daily flights to 1,185 airports in 185 countries. United and Continental's more than 80,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. For more information about United Continental Holdings, Inc., go to UnitedContinentalHoldings.com. For more information about the airlines, see united.com and continental.com or follow United on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE United Continental Holdings, Inc.

CONTACT: Worldwide Media Relations of United Continental Holdings, Inc., +1-312-997-8640, media.relations@united.com, or +1-713-324-5080, media.relations@coair.com

Web Site: http://www.united.com

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Where in the World is Regis Going?

After "Live with Regis and Kelly," Regis Philbin will be appearing as a guest speaker aboard ultra-luxe Crystal Cruises' March 13, 2012 Hong Kong to Osaka sailing. (PRNewsFoto/Crystal Cruises)

18 Nov 2011 21:46 Africa/Lagos


Where in the World is Regis Going?

PR Newswire

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18, 2011

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With today marking Regis Philbin's last day on television's popular daytime talk show, Live with Regis and Kelly, rumors are rampant about what he'll be doing next. Here's one truth: come March 13, he'll be heading east—the Far East that is, as a guest speaker aboard Crystal Cruises' Hong Kong to Osaka voyage of its World Cruise.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111118/LA09998)

Multiple Emmy Award-winner and the Guinness World Record holder for "most hours on camera," Philbin is renowned in the U.S. for more than 50 years hosting TV talk shows, game shows, and a plethora of other entertainment programming. As part of Crystal's award-winning enrichment program, guests will have a rare opportunity to see, and interact with, the ever-affable "Reeg," speaking about his life and legendary career. Guests can experience his trademark wit "live" without the cameras, and even have their own fun chat session with him via an audience Q&A. His wife, Joy, will accompany him on the sailing.

Philbin has had a long-time rapport with Crystal, having sailed as a celebrity guest speaker more than 10 years ago, and, in more recent years, presenting Crystal President Gregg Michel with Condé Nast Traveler's "Best Large-Ship" Readers' Choice Award.

"Given all the opportunities open to him, we're thrilled Mr. Philbin wanted to come back aboard for another star-treatment 'Crystal Experience'," says Crystal's Vice President of Entertainment Bret Bullock.

The "Kingdoms of Silk & Jade" Crystal Serenity sailing overnights in Hong Kong before visiting Xiamen, Shanghai (overnight), and Dalian, then heads inland to Beijing for a complimentary three-day inland adventure, followed by calls in Seoul/Incheon (overnight), Nagasaki, and Osaka (overnight).

Crystal Cruises' award-winning entertainment offerings include a range of venues and performances, from cabaret nightclub to piano bar saloon; acclaimed productions to headline entertainers; and sophisticated enrichment activities to in-room Blu-ray-viewing, for all world travelers. The renowned Crystal Experience has been rated "World's Best" more than any other cruise line, hotel, or resort in history.

For more information and Crystal reservations, contact a travel agent, call 888-799-4625, or visit www.crystalcruises.com.

CONTACT: Mimi Weisband or Susan Wichmann 310-203-4305, mediarelations@crystalcruises.com
VISIT: Crystal's Media Center

SOURCE Crystal Cruises

Web Site: http://www.crystalcruises.com

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Wole Soyinka and J.P. Clark at 13th Lagos Book and Art Festival

Lagos Freedom Park at night, the main venue of the 13th Lagos Book and Art Festival.

First African Nobel laureate in Literature Prof. Wole Soyinka and famous dramatist Prof. J.P. Clark were among the special guests on Saturday as they graced the Town Talk on "The Book in the Knowledge Economy" at the on going 13th Lagos Book and Art festival (LABAF) at the Freedom Park on Broad Street, Lagos. Other special guests included Penny Compton and Maggie Robertson from the Hay Festival.

LABAF is the biggest book fair and art event in West Africa founded and organized annually by the Committee For Relevant Art (CORA) in Nigeria.

The festival ends on Sunday with the Arthouse Forum on Art Of The Biography:Reviews and discussions of Femi Osofisan’s J. P. Clark: A Voyage, Adewale Pearce’s A Peculiar Tragedy: J. P. Clark and the beginning of modern Nigerian literature and Dele Olojede/Onukaba Adinoyi Ojo’s Born To Run: a biography of Dele Giwa at noon, followed by the CORA Stampede on "The Nigerian Abroad: Fictional Accounts Of The Immigrant Experience". There will be a panel of discussion on the The Phoenix by Chika Unigwe, Some Kind Of Black by Diran Adebayo, 26A by Dianne Evans, A Squatter’s Tale by Ike Oguine, Her Majesty’s Visit by Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, Icarius Girl by Helen Oyeyemi, Lawless by Sefi Atta and The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

The festival's play is Waiting Room by Wole Oguntokun, to commemorate a fresh start of Nigerian democracy. And the grand finale is the Nigerian premiere of Adopted, a German/Ghanaian documentary directed by Gudrun F. Widlok.

ADOPTED is an agency through which extended families in Africa adopt grown-up Europeans who are detached from their families. The film attends three chosen ones to their new families in Ghana.

Ludger from Berlin just recently found out about ADOPTED. Disappointed with his emotionless surroundings and isolated from friends and family, he has been searching for a long time for an escape. He hesitantly participates in ADOPTED and is selected sooner than expected.

Thelma, on the other hand, can`t wait for the moment of departure. A family in Accra (Ghana) has already agreed to adopt her and she is very pleased to get to know them soon. She packed her suitcases, gave away her furniture and is flying to Africa tomorrow – perhaps forever.

Likewise, Gisela is also excited. The last year was not easy for her. After the death of her husband she doesn`t know where she belongs to. She feels alone in her big house and is thinking about selling it and removing to her native home in the south of Germany. In the radio she hears of ADOPTED and is contacting the agency.

The film depicts the life of the protagonists, their journey to West-Africa and a process of anticipated closeness and inevitable misunderstandings.

~ By Ekenyrengozi Michael Chima

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Chevron In Open Conflict With Brazil and Ecuador Over Worsening Oil Spills

American Company Faces Loss of Credibility With Oil Producing Nations in Latin America

QUITO, Ecuador, Nov. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Chevron, which already faces allegations of fraud over an $18 billion liability in Ecuador for environmental damage, is being accused in Brazil of trying to cover up the extent of an oil spill caused by one of the company's offshore drilling rigs, leading to the company's second major conflict with a key Latin American oil-producing nation.

Misleading statements from Chevron about the size of the November 8th spill and its containment have led several Brazilian officials and environmental groups to criticize Chevron and demand more transparency from the oil giant, said Karen Hinton, spokesperson for the Ecuadorians who successfully sued Chevron for massive oil contamination in the rainforest.

According to the environmental group Greenpeace, whose activists today spilled black ink at the door of Chevron's Rio office, satellite pictures obtained by NASA show a spill "10 times bigger" than Chevron's estimate of 330 barrels a day. Rio state's Environmental Secretary Carlos Mink said, "The accident must be bigger than what is being announced. We are going to demand compensation…. The company must be punished in an exemplary manner."

Chevron already is in open conflict with Ecuador's government as part of its strategy to discredit the $18 billion judgment against it obtained in Ecuador's courts by rainforest residents. For almost three decades, Chevron's predecessor company Texaco dumped billions of gallons of toxic oil waste into the Amazon, leading to an environmental and public health catastrophe that dwarfs the extent of the BP calamity, according to evidence before the Ecuador court.

"Chevron's oil disaster in Brazil, and apparent cover-up, once again shows that the company has a systemic problem in failing to meet its environmental obligations to the communities where it does business," said Pablo Fajardo, the lead Ecuadorian lawyer who defeated Chevron in the 18-year legal battle.

"This type of dishonest behavior clearly puts Chevron at a competitive disadvantage relative to its peers, particularly in Latin America," he added.

Humberto Piaguaje, an indigenous leader in the area of Ecuador where Chevron operated, said Brazil should not trust Chevron to take responsibility for its actions.

"In Ecuador, we have lived with Chevron's contamination for five decades, and the company has refused to pay for the damage and destruction it caused. All governments in Latin America should beware of these basic facts before they do business with this company," said Piaguaje.

Chevron's management of its oil spills is not much better even in the United States. The oil giant recently agreed to a $4.5 million settlement with environmental officials in the state of Utah for two oil spills that polluted a creek and city pond. In that incident, Chevron also underestimated the amount of oil spilled, which contaminated a lake and impacted fish and wildlife.

In Ecuador, Chevron has tried to pressure President Rafael Correa to violate his country's Constitution – which guarantees Separation of Powers and an independent judiciary – and reach into the courthouse in Lago Agrio to quash the lawsuit, said Fajardo.

After an eight-year trial, the Ecuador court found Chevron responsible for the systematic dumping of billions of gallons of toxic waste into the Amazon from 1964 to 1992, when Texaco operated a large oil concession with 378 wells and production stations. The dumping decimated indigenous groups and created a spike in cancer rates and other oil-related illnesses, according to evidence before the court.

The indigenous and farmer communities in the area of Ecuador where Chevron operated have accused the oil giant of fraud in trying to cover up several waste pits with dirt and engaging in a sham remediation to hide its environmental crimes, said Fajardo.

Contact: Karen Hinton, 703-798-3109, Karen@hintoncommunications.com

SOURCE Amazon Defense Coalition

http://hintoncommunications.com/

Three Reasons Why Nigeria is Corrupt and Poor

Three Reasons Why Nigeria is Corrupt and Poor

1. Majority of Nigerians do not fear God.


2. Selfishness and wickedness powered by greed have made majority of Nigerians to disobey and flout one of the most important laws of God which is to love your neighbour as yourself. But majority of Nigerians who confess and profess to be "Christians" and "Muslims" have chosen and preferred to CHEAT and COMPETE with their neighbours.

The obedience of this fundamental law of charity is the golden gateway to prosperity. But the disobedience of this law is the rotten gateway to corruption and poverty.

Every administration seems to be in competition for the celebration of corruption.

The nation is plagued by rampant corruption at all levels, from the poorest to the richest Nigerians. The difference is the fact that the rich steal more than the poor.
Then the intellectual illiteracy of the majority of the people fuels the intellectual hypocrisy of the elites of the shamelessly corrupt ruling class in Nigeria.

3. Finally, the third reason is majority of Nigerians misplace their priorities in education, occupation and profession. And this third reason is powered by the second reason.

Majority of Nigerians do not go to school for the values and virtues of education, but for the mere selfish acquisition of the qualification they need for the competition in their rat race of catching up with the "Joneses" and not for nation building..



No well educated and intelligent man will indulge in corrupt practices, because a good education bestows upon you the great qualities of the indispensable values and virtues of dignity, integrity and nobility, the three pillars of a good personality in every civilized society.

What we are facing today is a society ruled by philistinism and these philistines who are men and women without conscience are in majority and they have filled the nation with their contagious corruption and pollution.

They enjoy messing around and wallow in the rot. These are really the dogs of the earth. They don't care about goodness and would trample on anything good in their way. And like the dogs they have become, they often return to their own vomit and even smack their lips as they eat their own vomit of corruption.

They are those who disregard dignity, integrity and nobility and they are the enemies of humanity and the sooner we get rid of these horrible and terrible enemies the better, healthier and safer humans would be. Because, if we don’t destroy evils, evils will certainly destroy us.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, author of Children of Heaven, Sleepless Night, Scarlet Tears of London, Bye, Bye Mugabe and In the House of Dogs.



You can order for this special Kindle edition on http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0065KCBE2 or click on the cover image.







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Jay-Z Tops GQ Men of the Year for 2011

GQ Names Men of the Year for 2011. (PRNewsFoto/Nathaniel Goldberg/GQ)

18 Nov 2011 13:00 Africa/Lagos


GQ Names Men of the Year for 2011

JAY-Z, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, JIMMY FALLON, AND MORE HONORED AT 16TH ANNUAL EVENT
DECEMBER ISSUE ON NEWSSTANDS NATIONWIDE—NOVEMBER 22, 2011

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2011

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GQ announced today the 2011 Men of the Year: the magazine's annual list of the men (and woman) who entertained, excited, and inspired us most this year. The biggest names in music, film, theater, and sports are recognized in the December issue and were on hand last night at GQ's annual Men of the Year event, at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.

Below is a complete list of the 2011 Men of the Year:

Jay-Z – King of the Year

Novak Djokovic – Ace of the Year

Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake – Showmen of the Year

David Kinch – Chef of the Year

Frank Ocean – Rookie of the Year

Michael Fassbender – Breakout of the Year

Gary Oldman – Icon of the Year

Mila Kunis – Knockout of the Year

Trey Parker & Matt Stone –Theater Geeks of the Year

Cast of Breaking Bad – Badasses of the Year

Oscar Pistorius – Superhuman of the Year

Steve Carell – Ham of the Year

Derrick Rose – MVP of the Year

Kyle Chandler – Coach of the Year

Michael Shannon – Fanatic of the Year

Louis C.K. – Comic Genius of the Year

Kristen Wiig – Bro of the Year

Peter Dinklage – Stud of the Year

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111118/NY09677 )

The event, hosted by GQ editor-in-chief Jim Nelson, brought the December issue to life, and famous names came out in droves to toast this year's honorees. Attendees included: Aziz Ansari, Carmelo Anthony & La La, Jessica Biel, Allison Brie, Lizzy Caplan, Zooey Deschanel, Diplo, Anna Faris & Chris Pratt, World Series MVP David Freese, John Hamm, Armie Hammer, Rashida Jones, Minka Kelly, Jimmy Kimmel, Ewan McGregor, Joel McHale, Chris Pine, Emma Roberts, Sarah Silverman, Emily van Camp, Kerry Washington, and many others.

For photos from last night's star-studded event, and for behind-the-scenes footage from the December issue of GQ, please visit www.GQ.com. More photos are also available at www.WireImage.com.

About GQ:
GQ is the leading men's general-interest magazine, with a monthly readership of 6.6 million readers. It is available in print, online at GQ.com, and as an app at iTunes.com, and is available for purchase at barnesandnoble.com and on Amazon's Kindle Fire. The magazine is published by Conde Nast, a division of Advance Publications. Conde Nast operates in twenty-five countries and is the world leader in exceptional content creation.

SOURCE GQ

CONTACT: CONTACT: Corey Wilson, +1-212-286-2419, corey_wilson@condenast.com, or Stefanie Adlerstein McNamara, +1-212-286-4507, stefanie_adlerstein@condenast.com, both for for GQ

Web Site: http://www.gq.com

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GQ Names Men of the Year for 2011

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13th Lagos Book and Art Festival Opens with Publishers Forum

The 13th Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) opened this Thursday amidst the euphoria of the 81st birthday of our literary icon Chinua Achebe and the good news of British Nigerian playwright Janice Okoh's clinching the £16,000 Bruntwood Prize for Play-writing with her play Three Birds. It is the competition's largest single award to date. She is also popularly known for her play Egusi Soup that was premiered at the 2009 Hotbed Festival and taken on tour by Menagerie. Okoh was also a runner-up for the 2011 Verity Bargate Award for The Real House.



The noble grand old man of Nigerian Literature, Prof. Chinua Achebe celebrated his 81st birthday on November 16..



Bruntwood Prize winner Janice Okoh receiving her prize from Maxine Peake.

LABAF which is the biggest book fair and art event in West Africa started in the morning with the second publishers forum at the Goethe Institut on the 4th floor of the City Hall on the Lagos Island. The forum focused on "THE BOOK IN THE AGE OF THE MICROCHIP", exploring the opportunities in digital media and social networking sites for writers, publishers and book sellers.

"I Vote To Read" is the theme of this 13th edition of LABAF, founded and organized annually by the Committee For Relevant Art (CORA) in Nigeria.

It was an exciting forum with interactive sessions moderated by the brilliant Ayo Arigbabu, the Coordinator. Mr. Bamidele Sanusi of Best Technologies made a presentation on "Optimizing Digital Platforms for Book Editing, Design and Production", Kazeem Muritala of Wayne & Malcolm Incorporated spoke on "Optimizing Digital Platforms for Book Distribution, Marketing and Sales" and Deji Toye highlighted the "E-Business Opportunities for the Publishing Industry".

The opening day cocktail is at the Freedom Park this evening.

The colloquium is on "Africa in the Eyes of the Other" and holds on Friday November 18 at the Freedom Park on Broad Street, Lagos. There will be a Town Talk on "The Book in the Knowledge Economy" on Saturday November 19 and there are other literary, visual and theatrical activities open to the public. The festival ends on Sunday November 20, 2011.

The following is the programme of events presented by Mr. Jahman Anikulapo, the Editor of The Guardian on Sunday who is the Programme Chair.

DAY 1

FRIDAY (November 18), 9am-1pm (FREEDOM PARK)

1. (9 am, Hall 2) "My Encounter with the Book" (Kiddies’ Segment- Tunde Babawale (Director General CBAAC)-a motivational talk to kids, kicks open the kiddies’ segment of the festival.

2. (11am-1pm, Hall 1) The Festival Colloquium (I): Theme: "Documenting The Governance Challenges: Africa In The Eyes Of The Other"-I: Readings, Reviews, and discussions around (a) A Swamp Full Of Dollars- Michael Peel (b) Dinner With Mugabe-Heidi Holland; (c) A Continent For The Taking- Howard French.


Friday, (November 18), 1pm-3pm(FREEDOM PARK)

2A. (1pm-3pm, Hall 1)The Festival Colloquium (II) Arrested Development: “Why Can’t ‘They’ Get It Right?: "Africa In The Eyes Of The Other": Readings, Reviews, and discussions around (a) The State Of Africa-Martin Meredith, (b) Nigeria: Dancing On The Brink-John Campbell, (c) It’s Our Turn To Eat-Michaela Wrong

Friday, (November 18), 3pm-5pm(FREEDOM PARK)

3. "How Familiar Is This Town?". The City As A Key Character In the Fictional Narratives Of The Continent.

Readings, Reviews, and discussions around:

(1) Good Morning Comrades(Luanda, Angola)-, by Ondjaki

(2)The Yacoubian Building(Cairo, Egypt) by Alaa Al Aswany

(3) The Secret Lives Of Baba Segi’s Wives(Ibadan, Nigeria)

(4)Tropical Fish (Entebbe, Uganda)-Doreen Baigana

(5) Under The Brown Rusted Roofs(Ibadan, Nigeria)

DAY 2

SATURDAY, (November 19), 10am-1pm(FREEDOM PARK)

4. (11am-1pm) "My Encounter with the Book" (Kiddies’ Segment- Austin Avuru (Petroleum Geologist and Author/Managing Director, Seplat Petroleum)-a motivational talk to kids .. (12noon to 1.30pm)

5. (12noon to 1.30pm) Town Talk1: Theme: "Books as tools of The Knowledge Economy: Can a book make you rich?" A top notch panel of discussants review the role of books in the Knowledge Economy, using three books as take off points: Hot, Flat And Crowded- Tom Friedman, The Tipping Point-Malcolm Gladwell, The Ascent Of Money-Niall Ferguson

5B. (1.30pm to 3pm)Town Talk2: Theme: "The Book As Key To The Knowledge Economy":

A conversation around Tom Friedman’s The World Is Flat, and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers.


Saturday, (November 19),

6. (3pm-4pm, Hall 1) Challenging The Present: African Authors And The Global

Discourse On Governance: Readings, Reviews and Discussions around: Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working And What Can Be Done About It, By Dambissa Moyo, When Citizens Revolt: Nigerian Elites, Big Oil and The Ogoni Struggle For Self Determination By Ike Okonta.

Musical Interlude/Live Performance (FREEDOM PARK)

Saturday, (November 19), 4pm-6pm

7. Mapping The Future: Four young authors and publishers under 35, discuss the changing landscape of the publishing industry and express, in detail, their dreams/plans in contributing to the revamp. Inserted in this conversation is a 25 minute presentation by Toni Kan with a working title: What happened to The Pace Setter Series- and when will the new Nigerian thriller come?


Saturday, (November 19), 6pm-10pm (FREEDOM PARK)


8. Festival Birthday Party

Combined birthday party for: Fatai Rolling Dollar@ 85, Chukwuemeka Ike @80, Benson Idonije@ 75, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett@ 70, Ebun Clark @ 70; Charly Boy @ 60; Richard Mofe-Damijo @50; Yeni Kuti @50; Joke Silva @50; Femi Akintunde-Johnson @ 50; Tunde Babawale @ 50; Sola Olorunyomi @ 50; Remi Raji @ 50

DAY 3

SUNDAY, November 20, 12noon (FREEDOM PARK)

9. Arthouse Forum: Art Of The Biography:Reviews and discussions of Femi Osofisan’s J. P. Clark: A Voyage, Adewale Pearce’s A Peculiar Tragedy: J. P. Clark and the beginning of modern Nigerian literature and Dele Olojede/Onukaba Adinoyi Ojo’s Born To Run: a biography of Dele Giwa.

Sunday, November 20, 2pm (FREEDOM PARK)

10. Stampede- "The Nigerian Abroad: Fictional Accounts Of The Immigrant Experience". A panel discussion on the The Phoenix By Chika Unigwe, Some Kind Of Black, By Diran Adebayo, 26A By Dianne Evans, A Squatter’s Tale, By Ike Oguine, Her Majesty’s Visit, By Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, Icarius Girl, By Helen Oyeyemi, Lawless, by Sefi Atta, The Thing Around Your Neck, By Chimamanda Adichie.


Sunday, November 20, 6pm (FREEDOM PARK)

11. Festival Play: Waiting Room by Wole Oguntokun: To Commemorate A Fresh Start Of Our Democracy.










~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, author of Children of Heaven, Sleepless Night, Scarlet Tears of London, Bye, Bye Mugabe and In the House of Dogs.

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Morocco Mall Makes First Guinness World Record™ for the Largest in-Store Shop Façade

Morocco Mall: First Guinness World Record™ for the largest in-store shop façade



Casablanca, November 17th 2011 – The Galeries Lafayette department store in Casablanca, whose doors are set to open on December 5th along with Morocco Mall, has been awarded a Guinness World Record™ as having “The largest in-store shop façade has a combined area of 3,381.92 m² (36,402.68 ft²) distributed over the three-storey Galeries Lafayette shop (France) located in the Morocco Mall shopping centre in Casablanca, Morocco. The store, developed and managed by Groupe Aksal (Morocco), was designed by Davide Padoa of Design International (UK) and it will be inaugurated in December 2011.”




With an overall height of 14m over 3 floors, the façade of Galeries Lafayette in Casablanca wraps itself gracefully around the shop for nearly 241m. This façade surpasses all architectural splendour: backlit and made of aluminum bronze, it is modelled, with aesthetic design and motifs, on the famous dome of the original store on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris, which has been classified as a historical monument since 1975.




The Galeries Lafayette store in Casablanca is a venture of the AKSAL Group who owns the franchise.

About Morocco Mall

Located on the Casablanca Corniche by the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco Mall will be ranked in the top 5 destination malls of the world at its opening. Morocco Mall is the first and only destination Mall in the Mediterranean and Africa. Stretching over 10 hectares (24,700 acres) and with an investment of 200 million Euros, Morocco Mall offers a diverse shopping experience combining retail, leisure and food & beverage inviting everyone to enjoy their own unique and magical experience, with family or with friends, in a truly original and contemporary architectural design.

With 70,000m² (753,500sp.feet) of commercial space and 350 stores, Morocco Mall brings together 600 brands of infinite variety from luxury fashion to culture, gastronomy, entertainment and leisure, many of which will be opening a store in Africa for the first time.

With the opening of Morocco Mall, 21,000 indirect jobs and 5,000 direct jobs will be created. Morocco Mall is an ambitious project carried out by AKSAL and Al Jedaie Groups which is creating a positive and sustainable change to the landscape of Casablanca and Morocco as well as the consumption patterns of the region.

http://www.moroccomall.com

About the AKSAL Group

Founded in the early years of 2000 by its Chairman, Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch, the AKSAL Group has in the last decade set itself up as a national leader of its many industries by deploying large-scale projects adding to the value of the Kingdom of Morocco.

The AKSAL Group continues to assert its leadership thanks to a pertinent organization structured around 5 business units: Retail (which owns and operates the franchises of Zara, Massimo Dutti, Zara Home, Pull & Bear, Oysho, Bershka, Uterqüe, Banana Republic, GAP, New Look), Luxury (franchises of MAC, Fendi, Gucci, La Martina and Dior in joint venture), Department Stores (franchises of Galeries Lafayette and FNAC), Aksal Property for real-estate and the Malls whose ambition is to develop Malls in Morocco (whose first major achievement is Morocco Mall in partnership with the Al Jedaie Group).

Thanks to the talents of its 1,500 employees of which most are Moroccan, but also of 20 other nationalities, the AKSAL Group has broadened and deepened its capabilities while remaining true to its 100% Moroccan values.

As well as their expertise, the Group is aware that sustainable economic development must be coupled with and take into account the involvement and development of man. AKSAL takes great pride in its human and political policies, making an impact on its social, environmental and cultural relations with its clients, partners and employees through the AKSAL Academy and the AKSAL Social Initiative.

www.groupeaksal.com

About Galeries Lafayette Casablanca

Galeries Lafayette Casablanca offers 10,000m² of commercial space with 6 different themed partitions: Female fashion, Male fashion, Children’s fashion, Accessories, Shoes and Beauty. The Galeries Lafayette will house more than 300 international brands of which over 90% are available in Morocco for the first time. In anticipation of its opening, 300 employees were hired and trained in a program exclusive to Morocco, established with the support of the French Chamber of Commerce and the Galeries Lafayette, with an objective to guarantee quality of service and selling advice.

The qualitative offer of the Galeries Lafayette Casablanca will be inspired on the current trends and adapted to the local market through a dedicated team of buyers.



About Davide Padoa and Design International

Davide Padoa is the Chief Executive Officer of Design International UK. Davide Padoa started his career in Asia after graduating from both the Faculty of Architecture of Milan and the University of Pomona (California). At the age of 25, he had signed the tallest building in Jakarta for the Dharmala Banking Group and the PSP Group. In 1998, he joined Design International, an international architectural firm based in London.

He became Chief Executive Officer in 2006 and as such he oversees major projects undertaken by Design International in over 30 countries over 4 continents. Under Davide’s direction, Design International has won several international awards including the prize for “Best Commercial Architecture” for Morocco Mall at the International Property Awards in 2009.

www.designinternational.com

Contacts Presse :
Morocco Mall
Fleishman-Hillard
Justine Gilles
justine.gilles@fleishman.com
+33 (0)1 47 42 48 16
Design International
Gianluca Gerosa
gianluca.gerosa@designinternational.com

+39 339 713 4122

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