Vir2o Partners with HotSauce, Award-Winning Digital Agency in Nigeria

7 Jan 2013 14:30 Africa/Lagos

Vir2o Partners with Award-Winning Digital Agency in Nigeria Lagos-based digital agency, HotSauce, signs on as country rep for new social engagement platform



ATLANTA, Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- East Coast Diversified Corporation (OTC.BB: ECDC) is pleased to announce its new partnership with leading Nigerian, Lagos-based mobile, online and social media marketing agency HotSauce.

HotSauce has signed on as an exclusive country representative for ECDC's social media subsidiary, Vir2o, and will represent the social media engagement platform in all its business interests in the market territory.

"We are thrilled to have secured this partnership with HotSauce because of their stellar reputation in the Nigerian market," said ECDC CEO Kayode Aladesuyi. "They were named the 2012 Digital Agency of the Year by Marketing World Awards and are inaugural sponsors of the Digital Marketing Conference & Exhibition in Africa. Their client list includes high profile brands like Samsung, Pepsi and The Gambia, and we're certain this will be a very successful relationship."

As the exclusive country rep in Nigeria, HotSauce will launch Vir2o in the market, secure advertising and sponsorship partners, glean locally produced content, attract Nigerian online retailers and maintain the public awareness of Vir2o through localized activities and events.

"Our research has shown the Nigerian market to be a highly appealing one for Vir2o," said ECDC Business Development and Marketing Director Andrej Jeremic. "The local economy is booming and the Nigerian people are eager to have a social media network that really works for them. We expect Vir2o to take off quickly in this market with the help of the HotSauce team."

"Vir2o is a game-changing social engagement platform with an incredible array of services combining to deliver the missing oomph in interactivity we crave from existing social networks," HotSauce COO Dayo Adefila said. "Think of it as Social 3.0 for individuals and brands. As one of the pioneer digital agencies in Africa to successfully utilize social networks for brand building and marketing, we are delighted with the Vir2o/HotSauce partnership and are committed to building Vir2o into a valuable engagement hub for Nigerians."

Adefila and the HotSauce team are already hard at work in their market territory in preparation for the upcoming Vir2o beta launch.

About East Coast Diversified Corporation (ECDC.OB) - ECDC is a holding corporation with a diversified group of technology companies. Its business portfolio includes companies offering technology for logistics and asset management, media entertainment, transportation safety and class attendance monitoring and social media applications.

For more information on ECDC and its group of companies, please visit www.eastcoastdiversified.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the Company's entry into new commercial businesses, the risk of obtaining financing, recruiting and retaining qualified personnel, and other risks described in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any obligation to provide updates, revisions or amendments to any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in the Company's expectations or future events.

Media Relations Contact
Meredith Pruden
East Coast Diversified Corporation
770-953-4184
866-503-9316
meredith.pruden@eastcoastdiversified.com



SOURCE East Coast Diversified Corporation

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

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FanBox is Offering More Than Facebook and Attracting More Fans

San Diego based FanBox is owned by mobile solutions company SMS.ac and offers a variety of services, including word-processing, IM and online storage.

FanBox has a social networking service that is more beneficial than Facebook and other popular social networks and the holding company SMS.ac offers premium SMS services and thousands of the active registered members are making money and using their earnings to promote different charities and causes like my ReBranding Nigeria is helping to fight lung disease. And so much more which you can only find out by yourself on FanBox.

I have found many Nigerian celebrities, including A-List Nollywood stars on Fanbox and they are making more money on FanBox than in some of their movies!They are making as much as $5, 000 monthly on FanBox and that's a lot of money in Nigeria where majority of the population live under $2 a day.

Just click FanBox to see how this really works.



~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima.

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World's Slimmest Smartphone is ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Ultra

7 Jan 2013 14:00 Africa/Lagos

World's Slimmest Smartphone, ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Idol Ultra, Unveiled at 2013 Consumer Electronic Show

LAS VEGAS, Nev., Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- (Consumer Electronic Show) - TCL Communication, the leading global designer and manufacturer of ALCATEL ONE TOUCH branded mobile devices, today announced the brands 2013 smartphone lineup, including the world's slimmest smartphone, the ONE TOUCH Idol Ultra and the first phone to feature the new MediaTek MT6589 quad-core chipset, the Scribe HD.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130107/SF37787-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130107/SF37787-b)

"The ALCATEL ONE TOUCH brand has grown exponentially since entering the U.S. market eight years ago," said Nicolas Zibell, President, Americas & Pacific for ALCATEL ONE TOUCH. "And with the launch of our new smartphone collection we plan to take things to the next level."

ONE TOUCH Idol Ultra
The ONE TOUCH Idol Ultra smartphone is the thinnest smartphone yet. The device breaks current market records at 6.45mm thin. Performance is not compromised in this design with features such as a stunning 4.7'' HD AMOLED display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8MP camera that captures 1080p video, and running on Android Jelly Bean.

ONE TOUCH Idol
In the same product line, the ONE TOUCH Idol also breaks current records, weighing in at 110 grams (3.88 oz) making it the lightest smartphone in its category. The device's dual-core processor and Android platform provides a feature-rich experience and supports a large, bright 4.7" IPS display, 8MP camera and 2MP front camera, running on Android Jelly Bean and offered in premium brushed metallic finishes.

"The ONE TOUCH Idol device series represents a breakthrough in technology," said Alain Lejeune, Head of Research and Development for ALCATEL ONE TOUCH. "We've pushed the barriers on design, resulting in devices that offer the perfect balance between ultra-slim form factor, large display, outstanding performance, and rich user experience, while keeping the devices affordably priced to consumers."

ONE TOUCH Scribe HD
The ONE TOUCH SCRIBE HD introduces new creative tools for personal expression and productivity. The 5" HD smartphone is first to debut the new MediaTek MT6589 quad-core chipset, providing faster Internet performance, smoother user-experience to simultaneously run power-hungry apps & games, along with premium multimedia & graphics capabilities. Beyond running a quad-core CPU, the ONE TOUCH Scribe HD also supports 4G speeds, 8MP camera plus 720p HD front camera, and operates on Android Jelly Bean.

A perfect blend of technology and design, these phones offer both form and function and are available in a wide collection of fresh and trendy colors. Additionally the company will be showcasing the exciting and colorful ONE TOUCH POP series of smartphones that redefine simplicity, as well as a series of thinner, sharper and faster tablets and new innovative connectivity devices.

For 20 years now, the ALCATEL brand has brought consistent innovation to consumers and quality in mobile phone technology to the widest audience. The ONE TOUCH smartphone product line is leveraging on that expertise bringing unique products, priced to be accessible to all.

"These mobile devices represent a small portion of the Android smartphones that the company will bring to market globally in 2013, and that will be brought to the public eye for the very first time at CES," said Nicolas Zibell.

About ALCATEL ONE TOUCH
The ALCATEL ONE TOUCH brand is owned by TCL Communication, an international multicultural company which designs, develops, and markets globally a growing range of mobile and Internet devices. One of the fastest growing of the world's top ten mobile phone manufacturers, TCL Communication makes access to mobile technology simple, designing their products around individual's lifestyles, enabling the end users to do more. TCL Communication is a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2618.HK) and part of TCL Corporation one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world. For more information, please visit www.alcatelonetouch.com.

To keep up to date with ALCATEL ONE TOUCH North America, like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/alcatelonetouchusa or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/alcatel1touch

Media Contacts

Virginia Strickland
ALCATEL ONE TOUCH
949.892.2975
virgina.strickland@alcatelonetouch.com

Ashley Colette
Porter Novelli
206.770.7088
310.776.0322
ashley.colette@porternovelli.com

SOURCE ALCATEL ONE TOUCH

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

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In South Sudan, Two Journalists Detained in Wau

Many newspapers in Sudan have been closed or suspended and many journalists detained, tortured, or subject to judicial investigations.

7 Jan 2013 03:24 Africa/Lagos


In South Sudan, Two Journalists Detained in Wau

NEW YORK, January 7, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Authorities in South Sudan have been holding two state broadcast journalists without charge since Tuesday, according to local journalists and media reports. The journalists were picked up in a sweep of arrests following protests and ethnic clashes last month in the northwestern town of Wau in Western Bahr el Ghazal State.


Louis Pasquale, director-general of the state broadcaster in Western Bahr el Ghazal, and Ashab Khamis, director of state television, are being held at the Meir al Bahr prison in Wau, according to the same sources. Along with Pasquale and Khamis, three other journalists working for the state broadcaster-radio director Alor Deng, head of news Kamilo Luchiano, and cameraman Michael Lawrence-were arrested but released Wednesday evening, Deng and state Information Minister Derrick Alfred told CPJ.


Local journalists said they suspect the arrests are related to coverage of violence in Wau. Last month, protests erupted after the government said it would transfer the local county headquarters from Wau, the state capital, to a nearby town; at least 10 people died in the ensuing crackdown on demonstrators, international media reported. Wau was a garrison town for the Sudan army before South Sudan gained independence in 2011 and has experienced ethnic clashes since separation. Citizens opposed to the county transfer accuse the government of marginalizing certain ethnic groups, while the government argues it is trying to deliver services to less developed areas, according to local journalists.


Security agents accuse the state media of providing footage of the clashes to international broadcaster Al-Jazeera, Catholic-run Bakhita Radio reported.


"These arrests appear to be part of an effort to suppress information about the unrest in Western Bahr el Ghazal," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. "We call on authorities to release Louis Pasquale and Ashab Khamis immediately, and allow journalists to cover events in the state without facing intimidation or arrest."


Alfred said the arrests were intended to restore order to the town. Western Bahr-el Ghazal State Governor Rizik Zakaria said in an interview on U.N.-backed Miraya FM that the journalists were arrested for administrative reasons, but did not give further detail.


According to independent shortwave Radio Tamazuj, authorities briefly detained other journalists from Radio Tamazuj and the Catholic-run Voice of Hope. Radio Tamazuj also reported that some journalists have received death threats by phone or text message since the clashes in Wau.


Source: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

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Sandra Appiah: The Youngest Black Editor and COO of an International Magazine

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Sandra Appiah is the youngest black Editor and COO of an international magazine in the world, the Face2Face AFRICA magazine in New York, U.S.A. At 23, millions of her fellow young African women are either hawking goods on the streets of Accra and Lagos, already having unwanted pregnancies and unwanted babies in dysfunctional marriages or still in colleges, polytechnics and universities in Africa, the most undeveloped continent on earth. And according to the African Economic Outlook, with almost 200 million people aged between 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world and that number will double by 2045.

Between 2000 and 2008, Africa’s working age population (15-64 years) grew from 443 million to 550 million; an increase of 25%. In annual terms this is a growth of 13 million, or 2.7% per year (World Bank 2011a). If this trend continues, the continent’s labour force will be 1 billion strong by 2040, making it the largest in the world, surpassing both China and India (McKinsey Global Institute, 2010).

~ African Economic Outlook, http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/in-depth/youth_employment/

Youth unemployment is higher in Africa than in other continents and the grave consequences have been seen in the widespread conflicts caused by economic and sociopolitical crimes in many African countries with increase in human trafficking as millions of young Africans are migrating to the U.S., Europe and other countries. But things are not better for them in the developed countries where the recession left millions of people jobless. Unemployment Rate in the United States remained unchanged at 7.80 percent in December of 2012 with number of unemployed persons at 12.2 million. And blacks have been hit the hardest by unemployment at 15.8 percent. But in spite of all these challenges in Africa and in her new base in the US, Sandra Appiah, an eptiome of beauty and brilliance is still proudly African and walking tall in the Bronx writing her own illuminating chapter of the American Dream with her team of young blacks and their mission is to use Face2Face AFRICA to re-brand the image of Africa in America and the rest of the world.
Sandra rocks 24/7.


~ By Orikinla Osinachi, author of Scarlet Tears of London, Diary of the Memory Keeper, In the House of Dogs, The Prophet Lied and other books.

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Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot

3 Jan 2013 20:00 Africa/Lagos

National Geographic Channel Partners With Scott Free Productions To Produce Best-Selling Author Bill O'Reilly Follow-up 'Killing Kennedy'



WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the tremendous success of the National Geographic Channel's first feature film SEAL Team Six and in anticipation of the upcoming world premiere of Killing Lincoln in February 2013, National Geographic Channel President Howard T. Owens announced today that the network once again will join forces with Scott Free Productions to produce a two-hour film based on Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot, Bill O'Reilly's latest New York Times best-selling book with co-author Martin Dugard.

The two-hour factual drama will stay true to the narrative storytelling devices used by O'Reilly in the book, which recounts the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy — and how a sequence of gunshots in Dallas not only killed a beloved president, but also propelled the nation into the Vietnam War and a cultural change.

"The common parallels between Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are astonishing, with both assassinations profoundly changing the nation during crucial moments in its history. It made perfect sense that my follow-up to Lincoln would naturally lead to Kennedy," said author Bill O'Reilly. "While Kennedy's assassination continues to garner many conspiracy theories, our story is based on facts, some that haven't been publicly known. And with National Geographic Channel and Scott Free once again at the helm, I have the utmost trust and faith that they will bring the story of Kennedy and Camelot to life."

Production on the two-hour television event will begin this spring, combining rare historical insights and archives with dramatic and emotionally engaging storytelling in the signature style of the Scott brothers. Casting news will be announced shortly.

The special will premiere globally on the National Geographic Channel in 171 countries and 38 languages.

"Collaborating with National Geographic on Bill O'Reilly's follow-up was an easy decision. They share the same passion of storytelling, willing to take creative leaps and risks to keep viewers entertained to tell the provocative story of Kennedy's last days, a pivotal and historic moment," said Ridley Scott.

"With the tremendous success of SEAL Team Six, our first feature film, and the growing excitement over this February's premiere of Killing Lincoln, producing Bill O'Reilly's follow-up was a no-brainer and will be yet another story that will resonate with our audience," said Owens. "As Scott Free Productions continue to be perfect partners — taking risks and breaking new ground in storytelling — we are claiming a stake in producing factual dramas, delivering entertainment with substance."

About Killing Kennedy:
More than a million readers have thrilled to Bill O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln, the page-turning work of nonfiction about the shocking assassination that changed the course of American history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts in gripping detail the brutal murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president but also sent the nation into the cataclysmic division of the Vietnam War and its culture-changing aftermath.

In January 1961, as the Cold War escalates, John F. Kennedy struggles to contain the growth of Communism while he learns the hardships, solitude, and temptations of what it means to be president of the United States. Along the way he acquires a number of formidable enemies, among them Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and Alan Dulles, director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In addition, powerful elements of organized crime have begun to talk about targeting the president and his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

In the midst of a 1963 campaign trip to Texas, Kennedy is gunned down by an erratic young drifter named Lee Harvey Oswald. The former Marine Corps sharpshooter escapes the scene, only to be caught and shot dead while in police custody.

The events leading up to the most notorious crime of the twentieth century are almost as shocking as the assassination itself. Killing Kennedy chronicles both the heroism and deceit of Camelot, bringing history to life in ways that will profoundly move the reader. This may well be the most talked about book of the year.

About Bill O'Reilly :
Bill O'Reilly is the anchor of "The O'Reilly Factor," the highest-rated cable news show in the country. He also writes a syndicated newspaper column and is the author of several number-one best-selling books. He is perhaps the most talked-about political commentator in America.

About Scott Free Productions :
Scott Free Productions was formed in 1995 and is the film and television production vehicle of acclaimed film directors: brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. Scott Free Television produces the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated, Peabody acclaimed drama, The Good Wife for CBS which is currently enjoying its fourth season, and the eight-hour adaptation of World Without End, Ken Follett's international best-seller featuring Cynthia Nixon, Ben Chaplin and Miranda Richardson on Reelz. Scott Free also produced the recent four-hour adaptation of Robin Cook's Coma for A&E, starring Geena Davis, James Woods, Richard Dreyfuss and Ellen Burstyn, the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated mini-series The Pillars of The Earth for Starz, the hit CBS show NUMB3RS, which ran for six seasons, the Emmy®-nominated mini-series The Andromeda Strain, starring Benjamin Bratt and Viola Davis, also for A&E, as well as the Golden Globe® nominated The Company for TNT featuring Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina.

Productions in prep for 2013 include the film event Reykjavik, starring Michael Douglas as Ronald Reagan and Christoph Waltz as Mikhail Gorbachev, about the historic meeting between the two leaders which instigated the end of the Cold War; Klondike, Discovery Channel1s first ever scripted mini-series, based on Charlotte Gray1s book, about six strangers' fight for survival and wealth in a small, frontier boom town; and, for Showtime, The Vatican from Oscar® nominated writer Paul Attanasio, a modern-day political thriller, with Ridley Scott at the helm of his first-ever television pilot.

In addition to scripted fare, Scott Free has firmly established its nonfiction presence by producing the epic Emmy®-winning documentary Gettysburg for History Channel, and the upcoming documentary Killing Lincoln for National Geographic Channel.

Scott Free has offices in Los Angeles and London in conjunction with RSA Films, one of the world's largest and most successful commercial production houses.

National Geographic Channels
Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Cable Networks. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in 84 million U.S. homes. Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in 440 million homes in 171 countries and 38 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.

SOURCE National Geographic Channel

CONTACT: Chris Albert, National Geographic Channels, +1-202-912-6526, CAlbert@natgeotv.com, for NGC; or Katherine Rowe, Slate PR, +1-310-461-0115, katherine@slate-pr.com, for Scott Free Productions

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



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President Obama's Grandmother in Equatorial Guinea For Surgery

Mama Sarah Obama and her grandson President Barack Obama.

3 Jan 2013 22:47 Africa/Lagos

President Obama's Grandmother Flies To Equatorial Guinea For Surgery

State-of-the-art hospital's reputation for high-quality health services grows in Africa

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- La Paz Hospital, located in the capital city of Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, recently treated United States President Barack Obama's step-grandmother, Sarah Onyango Obama.

Sarah Obama traveled from Kenya to Equatorial Guinea to have emergency eye surgery. She is currently making a full recovery.

During her stay in Equatorial Guinea she said, "All of Africa is talking about your hospital and of the fact that you don't need to fly to Europe to get medical treatment."

La Paz is a full-service hospital offering expertise in radiology, emergency and intensive care, urology, pediatrics, gynecology obstetrics, surgery, dentistry, and ophthalmology. With close to 130 beds, the Medical Center's delivery rooms, recovery rooms, laboratories, pharmacies, and clinics allow highly trained medical staff to serve those in need.

La Paz hospital is one of the many investments the government of Equatorial Guinea has made in recent years to promote improved public health. The hospital is an asset for foreign investment because it provides a guarantee of high-quality medical care for many thousands of foreign workers in the country. It also provides valuable training for Equatorial Guinea's medical professionals and is helping to raise the standards for hospital care in the country.

La Paz is not a private hospital that is required to treat emergency cases and other cases that are beyond the capacity of the nation's other hospitals. In 2011, surgeons at La Paz reattached an Equatoguinean man's severed hand.

The hospital is a joint venture between the government of Equatorial Guinea and Medical Services International Inc, and operates under the guidance of Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, Israel's national medical center and the most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East.

About Equatorial Guinea
The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial) is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, and one of the smallest nations on the continent. In the late-1990s, American companies helped discover the country's oil and natural gas resources, which only within the last five years began contributing to the global energy supply. Equatorial Guinea is now working to serve as a pillar of stability and security in its region of West Central Africa. The country hosted the 2011 Summit of the African Union. For more information, visit http://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com.

SOURCE Republic of Equatorial Guinea
This has been distributed by Qorvis Communications, LLC on behalf of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. More information on this relationship is on file at the United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

CONTACT: Matt Lauer, +1-703-463-1841

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12:00	Pan African Tobacco Group Founder Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa to Retire
03:39	Nigerian journalists freed, but equipment still held

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The Nigerian Facebook Generation

Source: Uploaded by user via Re-Branding Nigeria on Pinterest

The youths who make up the majority of the Nigerian Facebook Generation are intellectually retarded. They don't even know who is Ben Okri, because they don't read. And that is why they have flunked their exams with mass failures in the General Certificate of Education (GCE) and JAMB's Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) since they went Facebook crazy.

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Ben Okri is the Next Nigerian Writer Who Deserves the Nobel Prize in Literature

Ben Okri.

The next Nigerian most likely to win the Nobel Prize in Literature is Ben Okri, who is still the youngest winner of the Booker Prize for Fiction for his third novel The Famished Road (1991) when he was only 32. He is the only Nigerian writer since the first African Nobel Laureate in Literature Wole Soyinka I can say is AWESOME!

Bibliography

2012

Wild, Rider Books

2011

Time for New Dreams, Rider Books

2009

Tales Of Freedom, Rider Books

2007

Starbook, Rider Books

2002

In Arcadia, Weidenfeld & Nicolson

1999

Mental Fight, Phoenix House

1998

Infinite Riches

, Phoenix House

1997

Way of Being Free, Phoenix House

1996

Dangerous Love

, Phoenix House

1995

Birds of Heaven, Orion

1995

Astonishing the Gods, Phoenix House

1993

Songs of Enchantment, Cape

1992

An African Elegy  ,Cape

1991

The Famished Road, Cape

1988

Stars of the New Curfew, Secker & Warburg

1986

Incidents at the Shrine, Heinemann

1981

Landscapes within (Drumbeats, Longman

1980

Flowers and Shadows, Longman

Awards

2001

OBE

2000

Premio Palmi (Italy), Dangerous Love

1995

Crystal Award (World Economic Forum)

1994

Premio Grinzane Cavour (Italy), The Famished Road

1993

Chianti Ruffino-Antico Fattore International Literary Prize, The Famished Road

1991

Booker Prize for Fiction, The Famished Road

1988

Guardian Fiction Prize, Stars of the New Curfew, shortlist

1987

Paris Review/Aga Khan Prize for Fiction, Incidents at the Shrine

1987

Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region, Best Book), Incidents at the Shrine

Ben Okri

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Three Out Four of Heads of State Now on Twitter

President Barack Obama is the most followed head of state on Twitter.

• 8,213 Tweets
• 667,838 Following
• 25,244,613 Followers

1 Jan 2013 13:21 Africa/Lagos

Three out Four of Heads of State now on Twitter

The Digital Policy Council's latest research shows world leaders rushing to join Twitter in the hope of better engaging their citizenry.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Digital Policy Council (DPC), an international, non-partisan "think tank" on 21st Century Governance, has released its 2012 ranking report on the use of social media by heads of state.

The DPC is the research and public advocacy arm of Digital Daya ('digital influence'), a next generation strategic consultancy that empowers government and corporate leaders to leverage the new media of the Internet to build influence and shape public opinion.

The Digital Policy Council's most up-to-date research recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 93% in world leaders joining Twitter since it began recording the data in early 2010 reflecting a near doubling every year of Heads of State on Twitter as they aggressively pursue new ways to build influence with their citizens and the international community.

Analyses as of December 2012 reveal that 75%, or three out of four heads of state, have a presence on the social media site Twitter. A total of 123 world leaders out of 164 countries have Twitter accounts set up in their personal name or through an official government office. The new figures represent a 78% increase in the number of heads of state and national governments on Twitter from the third quarter of 2011.

"We expect Twitter will become a de facto communication tool for nearly all heads of state in 2013," said Omar Hijazi, Managing Partner at Digital Daya. "With a more emboldened and connected society, world leaders are recognizing, now more than ever, that the options for communicating with their electorate have been permanently redefined."

Latin America, Middle East and Women Take Claim of the Top 10

In 2012, President Obama again maintained the top spot of all world leaders, with a vast 24 million followers, adding 15 million followers in one year and exceeding his closest rival President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela by 20 million followers. President Chavez along with four other Latin American leaders made up 50% of the Top 10 including newcomers President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia and President Enrique Pena Nietoin of Mexico.

Three spectacular women claimed spots in the Top 10 in 2012 capturing collectively over 5.5. million followers; these world leaders are Queen Rania of Jordan, President Dilma Rouseff of Brazil and Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner.

The Queen of Jordan was joined by two other world leaders from the Middle East, President Abdullah Gul of Turkey who increased his following by over 2 million people and an enduring member of the Top 10, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai who grew his followers by nearly 1 million in a single year.

The sole European on the list is Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a fresh entrant into the top ten in 2012 likes to tweet in both Russian and English.

Resistance is Futile

Suddenly resistance to this medium, throughout the political sphere, is being converted into acceptance. World leaders are discovering that it isn't possible to control the internet, it is more important to harness its energy in the right direction.

Even the UK Prime Minister David Cameron, a long-time hold-out and consistent disparager of the Twitter platform, experienced a change of heart by adopting in October 2012 a Twitter handle in his own name. When questioned by the media as to why he was at long last utilizing Twitter, he provided an acquiescent yet telling remark, "You've got to get with the programme, I suppose."

For more insights and information download the full report at http://ow.ly/gsAXG

About The Digital Policy Council™

The Digital Policy Council (DPC) is an international, non-partisan 'think tank' that promotes good governance and policy-making. The research and policy arm of the management consultancy firm Digital Daya, DPC's mission is the advancement of open discourse on issues of inclusive governance through the use of the Internet and Web 2.0.

http://www.digitaldaya.com/

SOURCE The Digital Policy Council

CONTACT: The Digital Policy Council, U.S. +1-202-379-4787, UAE +971-4-313-2086, Malaysia +60-3-2168-4201, public_relations@digitaldaya.com

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

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