Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Is The Most Popular Nigerian Celebrity On Twitter

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, one of the most charismatic televangelists in the world is the most followed Nigerian celebrity on Twitter with over one million followers, followed by the sensational hip hop singer Whizkid.

1. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Chris Embassy, famous televangelist, faith healer and author.
https://twitter.com/PastorChrisLive
1,150,714 Followers.

2. Whizkid, very young popular and sensational hip hop singer.
https://twitter.com/wizkidayo
532,339 Followers.

The Official Top 10 Most Popular Nigerian Celebrities On Twitter, Spring 2013 include D’Banj, Don Jazzy, 2Face Idibia, Davido, Genevieve Nnaji, Peter Okoye of PSquare, Basketmouth and Tonto Dike.

See all the stats and photographs on TALK OF THE TOWN By Orikinla.

About the Most Popular Nigerian Celebrity on Twitter
Through an anointed ministry spanning over 25 years, Pastor, teacher, healing minister, television host and bestselling author Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, (PhD) has helped millions experience a victorious and purposeful life in God’s word. He is the author of the bestseller Rhapsody of Realities, the number one daily devotional around the world, which he co-authored with his wife Rev. Anita Oyakhilome. Several millions of copies of the best-selling daily devotional and Bible-study guide have been distributed in over 160 countries in over 148 languages of the world including Afrikaans, Arabic, Cantonese, Croatian, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Icelandic, Italian, Mandarin, Myanmar, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili...and still counting! New languages are added regularly, making the devotional accessible to many more in different parts of the globe, thus bringing the richness of God’s Word into their lives. Little wonder the devotional, oftentimes, is referred to as the, “Messenger Angel”.

Presiding over an ever-widening network of Christ Embassy Churches and campus fellowships on all five continents, Pastor Chris also pastors one of the largest congregations in Africa. He holds massive teaching and healing crusades like the Higher Life conference and Night of Bliss with crowds of over 3.5 million in a single night's event.



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Ekulo International Ltd Takes Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil To The Kitchen

Ekulo International Ltd Takes Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil To The Kitchen

~ By Ingram Osigwe

Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been recommended for cooking in Nigeria. Though most Nigerian homes make do with palm oil and various brands of vegetable and groundnut oils, experts say numerous benefits from use of olive oil far surpass any other brands of cooking oil. Manufacturers of Goya olive oil has therefore emphasized that it is the preferred brand in American and European homes for cooking.







Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil is available to all strata of income earners. It comes in 89ml, 250ml, 500ml bottles and 1 litre and 3 litres tins.

Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil is obtained from the olive fruit, a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean basin. It is produced by grinding whole olives and extracting the oil by mechanical means. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and soaps. It is also used as a fuel for traditional oil lamps. Olive oil is used throughout the world. “Virgin” attached to Olive oil connotes that the oil was produced by the use of physical means and no chemical additives. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) comes from virgin oil production only.



Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made from the purest of olives. It is derived from the first pressing of the finest olives. It has a bold, intense olive flavor. Company sources say it is the real virgin oil. Marketers of Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil insist their product is the real brand.



Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced by Goya Foods, Inc., a multinational food producing company headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey, USA, as a market leader in food production; Goya has factories in over 5 continents. Goya’s 3,500 employees worldwide produce over 1,600 products that are available in local grocery stores and supermarkets in all international markets.

Olive oil has long been considered scared; its history and origin is traced to Greece. It was used to anoint kings and athletes in ancient Greece. It was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples as well as being the “eternal flame” of the original Olympic Games. Victors in the games were crowned with its leaves.

Today, it is still used in many religious ceremonies. Over the years, the olive has been the symbol of peace, wisdom, glory, fertility, power and purity. The olive was one of the main ingredients in ancient Israelites cuisine. Olive oil was used for not only food and cooking, but also lighting, sacrificial offerings, ointment, and anointment for priestly or royal office.

The olive tree and olives are mentioned over 30 times in the Bible, in both the New and Old Testaments. It is one of the first plants mentioned in the Bible, and one of the most significant. For example, it was an olive leaf that a dove brought back to Noah to demonstrate that the flood was over. The olive tree itself, as well as olive oil and olives, play an important role in the Bible.

The spiritual benefits of Goya Extra Virgin olive cannot be over emphasized; it is the best olive oil in its pure and natural form. Goya Extra Virgin Oil is synonymous with God’s oil.
Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil has its health benefits as well as its spiritual purification.

“We have decided to market Goya Extra Virgin so that Nigerians can look beyond the spiritual use”, says Emeka Oramadike, Marketing Manager of Ekulo International Ltd in Lagos. “It is one of the best cooking oils used in developed countries as it contains no cholesterol. That is what we aim to do with users in Nigeria, to make them see the health benefits of using olive oil to cook their meals”.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil reduces the risk of coronary heart disease because it has a high proportion of monounsaturated fats and also contains antioxidants such as vitamin E and carrotenoids. Unlike saturated fats, it lowers total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in the blood. It is also known to lower blood sugar levels and blood pressure.

Besides its nutritional value, Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil is equally used as a panacea for various skin problems such as dry skin, itches and burns. It is also used to treat dandruff and other dermatological issues that people all over the world contend with.



Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been used by generations of Europeans and Americans to treat various maladies, form facial massages o soothing chapped palms, preventing sunburn and even treating cardio-vascular diseases. Beyond that it is used as an anti-ageing agent without the side effects of other anti-oxidants in the market today. It might also interest users of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to know that the oil has demulcent properties, and mild laxative properties, acting as a stool softener.
“We want the best for Nigerian users,” Oramadike said.
“This is why Ekulo International Ltd has gone out of its way to see the best olive oil is available to Nigerians. More than anything is to let them know it can be used for cooking and not only spiritual cleansing”.


**************
Mr. Ingram Osigwe is the Media Consultant to Ekulo Group.

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86 Investigative Journalists from 46 Countries Unearth 2.5 Million Secret Files

3 Apr 2013 23:05 Africa/Lagos

International Consortium Of Investigative Journalists Lifts Veil On Offshore World
2.5 MILLION SECRET FILES UNEARTHED BY ICIJ AT THE HEART OF 15-MONTH GLOBAL INVESTIGATION

86 INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS FROM 46 COUNTRIES WORKED ON WHAT MAY BE LARGEST-EVER CROSS BORDER JOURNALISM COLLABORATION

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a project of the Center for Public Integrity, released today its first of many reports from a 15-month investigation that cracks open the historically impenetrable world of offshore tax havens.

Drawing from a leaked trove of 2.5 million digital files, ICIJ led what may be the largest cross border journalism collaboration in history.

ICIJ's investigation opens the secrets of more than 120,000 offshore companies and trusts and nearly 130,000 individuals and agents, exposing hidden dealings of politicians, con artists, and the mega-rich in more than 170 countries. Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze , ICIJ's largest investigative reporting project in its 15-year history, is available at www.icij.org/offshore.

The stories released today by the ICIJ and its partner outlets around the world are the first installment in an ongoing series. An initial group of stories will run between April 3 and April 15, 2013 with more reporting to follow throughout the year as ICIJ and its partners continue the investigation.

"This investigation lifts the curtain on the offshore system and provides a transparent look into the secret world of tax havens and the individuals and companies that use and benefit from them," said Gerard Ryle, Director of the ICIJ. "We already knew how secret and inaccessible the offshore industry is, but we were surprised by how vast and far reaching it is. It draws its clients not only from the world's super-wealthy, but also from everyday professionals from all around the world."

The files identify the individuals behind the covert companies and private trusts based in the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands, Singapore and other offshore havens. They include American doctors and dentists and middle-class Greek villagers as well as Russian corporate executives, Eastern European and Indonesian billionaires, Wall Street fraudsters, international arms dealers and families and associates of long-time dictators.

Among the investigation's key findings:

Government officials and their families and associates in Azerbaijan, Russia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Canada, Mongolia and other countries have embraced the use of covert companies and bank accounts.

The mega-rich use complex offshore structures to own mansions, yachts, art masterpieces and other assets, gaining tax advantages and anonymity not available to average people.

Many of the world's top's banks – including UBS, Clariden and Deutsche Bank – have aggressively worked to provide their customers with secrecy-cloaked companies in the British Virgin Islands and other offshore hideaways.

A well-paid industry of accountants, middlemen and other operatives has helped offshore patrons shroud their identities and business interests, providing shelter in many cases to money laundering or other misconduct.

Ponzi schemers and other large-scale fraudsters routinely use offshore havens to pull off their shell games and move their ill-gotten gains.

While reporting by the ICIJ and its partners shows that many users of offshore are engaged in legitimate transactions, the project team's investigations raise questions about the lack of transparency, lax law enforcement and illegal practices that are prevalent in the offshore world.

"This investigation was the most extensive in our history. It would not have been possible without the cooperation of our international partners," said Bill Buzenberg, Executive Director of the Center for Public Integrity. "Because of the magnitude of this cross-border collaboration we are able to provide a window onto the offshore world, an important step toward bringing transparency and accountability to an industry that over the last several years has grown beyond regulation and control."

The collection of leaked information, totaling more than 260 gigabytes of data, includes corporate files, emails, account ledgers, and other records that show cash transfers, incorporation dates and links between individuals and companies. It is believed to be one of the largest collections of leaked data gathered and analyzed by journalists.

The files illustrate how offshore financial secrecy has spread aggressively around the globe, allowing the wealthy to avoid taxes, fueling corruption and economic woes in rich and poor nations. The current banking crisis in Cyprus is one example of how the offshore system can impact an entire country's financial stability.

The ICIJ worked with 86 investigative journalists from 46 countries and used data mining software and old fashioned shoe leather reporting to unveil the previously hidden but thriving world of fraud, tax dodging and political corruption.

To analyze the documents, ICIJ collaborated with journalists from The Guardian and the BBC in the U.K., Le Monde in France, Suddeutsche Zeitung and Norddeutscher Rundfunk in Germany , The Washington Post, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and 31 other media partners around the world.

The reporters and editors on the project team thoroughly fact-checked the data and cross-referenced it with other information, including court records, government reports and financial databases. Team members interviewed hundreds of experts, government officials, attorneys, offshore clients and other sources around the world.

Among the countries included in the data are: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela.

About the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is a global network of reporters who collaborate on in-depth investigative stories. Founded in 1997, ICIJ was launched as a project of the Center for Public Integrity to extend the Center's style of watchdog journalism, focusing on issues that do not stop at national frontiers. With 160 members in more than 60 countries, ICIJ is dedicated to investigating cross-border crime, corruption, and the accountability of power. Backed by the Center and its computer-assisted reporting specialists, public records experts, fact-checkers and lawyers, ICIJ reporters and editors provide real-time resources and state-of-the-art tools and techniques to journalists around the world.

About the Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and independent digital news organization specializing in original investigative journalism on significant public policy issues. Since 1990, the Washington, D.C.-based Center has released more than 500 investigative reports and 17 books to provide greater transparency and accountability of government and other institutions. It has received the George Polk Award and more than 50 other major journalism awards, including honors from Investigative Reporters and Editors, Online News Association, Overseas Press Club, Society of Environmental Journalists, and Society of Professional Journalists.

SOURCE International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; Center for Public Integrity

CONTACT: Emily Lenzner, Emily@lenznerpr.com, 202.997.7776; Maureen Higgins, Mhiggins@scottcircle.com, 202.207.3662

Web Site: http://www.icij.org
http://www.icij.org/offshore

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Bishop Desmond Tutu Wins 2013 Templeton Prize

4 Apr 2013 05:01 Africa/Lagos

Desmond Tutu Wins 2013 Templeton Prize

PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Revered religious leader is a moral voice for love, peace and justice

Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, has won the 2013 Templeton Prize for his lifelong work in advancing spiritual principles such as love and forgiveness which have helped to liberate people around the world.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130228/606584-a )
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130228/606584-b )

Valued at £1.1 million (about $1.7 million or €1.3 million), the Templeton Prize has been the world's largest annual monetary award given to an individual for the past 40 years. Tutu joins a distinguished group of 42 former recipients. Last year's Templeton Prize Laureate was the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader.

The Prize celebrates each year a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works. Desmond Tutu will receive the Templeton Prize at a ceremony in London on Tuesday 21st May.

Tutu said in response to receiving the Prize in a video at http://www.templetonprize.org, "When you are in a crowd and you stand out from the crowd it's usually because you are being carried on the shoulders of others. I want to acknowledge all the wonderful people who accepted me as their leader at home and so to accept this prize in a representative capacity."

Established in 1972 by the late global investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton, the Templeton Prize is a cornerstone of the John Templeton Foundation's international efforts to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries relating to the Big Questions of human purpose and ultimate reality.

Notes to Editors

The qualities sought in a Templeton Prize nominee include creativity and innovation, rigor and impact. The judges seek, above all, a substantial record of achievement that highlights or exemplifies one of the various ways in which human beings express their yearning for spiritual progress. Nominations are encouraged in:

Research in the human sciences, life sciences, and physical sciences
Scholarship in philosophy, theology, and other areas of the humanities
Practice, including religious leadership, the creation of organisations that edify and inspire, and the development of new schools of thought
Commentary and Journalism on matters of religion, virtue, character formation, and the flourishing of the human spirit

CONTACT: For media enquiries and images please contact the Templeton Press Office: t: +44(0)20-7395-8938, m: +44(0)7990-566-865, e:steve.clarke@ctn.co.uk

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Is Nigeria A ‘Wayward Child,’ Her Father Long Ignored?

Is Nigeria a ‘wayward child,’ her father long ignored?

~ By Adeleke ‘Mai Nasara’ Adeyemi.

On the eve of the centenary of the Amalgamation of Northern and Southern Protectorates, above and below the River Niger respectively, to give birth to Nigeria, the question of the nation’s paternity has never been more pressing.
Years ago, noted Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe (1930 – 2013) posed the all- important question: “What is Nigeria?” Not surprisingly, he proposed an answer to his own question: “Our 1960 national anthem, given to us as a parting gift by a British housewife in England, called Nigeria 'our sovereign motherland' --the Mother image.
“The current anthem, which [replaced] that first one, was put together by a committee of Nigerian intellectuals, and in my view is actually worse than the first anthem. This second one invoked the Father image. So Mother image in the first one, Father image in the second one. But it has occurred to me that Nigeria is neither my mother nor my father. Nigeria is a child; gifted, enormously talented, prodigiously endowed and incredibly wayward.

“Being a Nigerian is abysmally frustrating and unbelievably exciting. I have said somewhere that…I want to come back as a Nigerian again. But I have also in a rather testy mood in a book called “The Trouble with Nigeria” dismissed Nigerian travel advertisements with the suggestion that only tourists with an addiction to self- flagellation pick Nigeria for a holiday. And I mean both. Nigeria needs help; Nigerians have their work cut out for them, to coax this unruly child along the path of useful creative development…”

But there is a logical limit to Achebe’s extrapolation, after which it goes awry and out of kilter. It’s quite simply illogical of him to assert that “we are the parents of Nigeria, not vice versa.”

It’s sad that more and more trains of thought run empty of etymology in the present age. The Anthems, respectively, assert not ‘Pater’ but ‘Patria’ (Latin patrialis "pertaining to your country"), and ‘Matria’ not Mater’, quite contrary to Achebe’s reading of their lyrics.

The Latin word ‘mater’ is the root of the following English words: madrigal (a type of song popular in England in the 16th and 17th centuries); material; maternal; matriculate; matrimony; matrix; matron; and matter.

Its Indo-European ancestor in turn gave rise to the English words mammal, metropolis, and, most tellingly, mother. The Latin alma mater, which we now employ with relish to refer to our ‘old school’ means "bounteous mother". Isn't 'a school a book in which is written the future of a nation'?

However, Achebe’s summing-up of Nigeria as “a wayward child” is quite simply spot-on. Nigeria does have a Father—only he has been long ignored, treated as non- existent by a turncoat omo on’ile ol’ona t’o d’agbero; omo wo’le iya bu’ekun (a pedigreed son-turned-rascal, now a source of perpetual sorrow).
It is just as Holy Writ says: “A foolish son is a heartache to his father and bitter grief to his mother.” 1

Despite Achebe’s faulty reading of the words of the Anthems at points, his conclusion nonetheless remains apt: “Nigeria is a country where nobody can wake up in the morning and ask 'what can I do now?' Nigeria has work for everybody.”
It must start with the following prescription: “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask your father, and he will show thee; your elders, and they will tell you: God Most High gave land to every nation. He assigned a guardian angel to each of them.”

Can it be that Nigeria does indeed have a father, whose memoirs we are to
consult, to “ask” him a thing or two? It has to be the most intolerable thing for a father, for him to be ignored and neglected. What else does honour—or, in this instance, the lack of it—consist in?

This ignorance and neglect of the patrimony must work to the detriment of successive generations. Again, hear Holy Writ: "Honor your father and mother that everything may go well for you, and you may have a long life on earth." This is an important commandment with a promise.”

For Nigerians, Mother is Niger Area; whether proto-Nigeria was nubile or ready at Amalgamation is a topic for another day. Yet she remains our matrix (or womb), the crucible from which our nation may yet be forged and birthed.
A ready, well-documented example exists for us to understudy, for general principles: the United States of America.

That nation is essentially an heterogeneous entity forged out of the crucible of the territories the Plymouth Pilgrims—a group of Separatists who broke away from the Church of England to escape religious persecution—laid claim to and settled.
It began in 1620 when they voted to travel to America on the Mayflower and came upon Plymouth colony near present-day Province town, Massachusetts. The group, among others, settled a land earlier uncovered by the great explorer Christopher Columbus.
Ajayi Crowther (1809 – 1891), trailblazing Bishop (from Latin episcopus meaning 'overseer', from the Greek episkopos meaning 'watcher'), was a pioneer of several Expeditions up and down the Niger and the Benue, Nigeria’s twin watermark features.
But Ajayi Crowther was more than a surveyor; he was a shepherd who went on to codify and delineate various ‘land gauges’ or languages of Yoruba, Ibo, Nupe, Kakanda, on both sides of the Niger and Benue Rivers and worked for the best interests of all, regardless of creed or ethnic derivation. In truth, he’s our long ignored, even disdained, father. We could make him our guardian angel also. Consider the following:

“Ajayi Crowther’s work, like his name, remains an imperishable monument of all his faith and labour. Whatever achievement … [is to be found in] the Niger [Area], it will never be forgotten that he broke the hard and fallow ground. It was his brave heart and strong hand that cut the first path through the dense undergrowth of superstition; it was he, as a wise master builder, who laid the foundations of the work…that was to be. Like [first US President George] Washington, he was the father of his country; but he did more, for he proved in his own person the capacity of the African to serve his own people.... His life has silenced many who made us to differ, and in the advancement and development of the native, not only in spiritual but in civil responsibilities, he will be remembered as the forerunner of a potential race [or people] to be.” --Jesse Page, The Black Bishop, 1916.

“Writing,” as Francis Bacon proposed, does indeed “maketh an exact man”, like Jesse Page above. Since “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” 4 let us call on a second ‘accessory after the fact’, as it were, to establish our case; first without, next within.
Below is the full text of a letter of monumental historical import. It dates back to 1881 and was originally written in Hausa. It was intended for the attention of none other than the Shepherd of the Niger:
“Salute Crowther, the great Christian minister. After salutation, please tell him he is a father to us in this land; anything he sees will injure us in all this land, he would not like it. This we know perfectly well.

“The matter about which I am speaking with my mouth, write it; it is as if it is done by my hand, it is not a long matter; it is about barasa (i.e. gin). Barasa, barasa, barasa! My God, it has ruined our country; it has ruined our people very much; it has made our people become mad. I have given a law that no one dares buy or sell it; and any one who is found selling it, his house is to be eaten up (plundered); any one found drunk will be killed. I have told all the Christian traders that I agree to anything for trade except barasa. I have told Mr. McIntosh’s people to-day, the barasa remaining with them must be returned down the river. Tell Crowther, the great Christian minister, that he is our father. I beg you, Malam Kipo (Rev. C. Paul, native missionary), don’t forget this writing, because we all beg that he (Bishop Crowther) should beg the great priests (Committee of C.M.S.) that they should beg the English Queen to prevent bringing barasa into this land.

“For God and the prophet’s sake, and the prophet His messenger’s sake, he (Crowther) must help us in this matter, that of barasa. We all have confidence in him; he must not leave our country to become spoiled by barasa. Tell him may God bless him in his work. This is the mouth-word from Maliki, Emir of Nupé.” –Quoted by Jesse Page, in his book The Slave Boy Who Became Bishop (1892).

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Adeleke Adeyemi is the winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature, 2011, with his first book, The Missing Clock (written under the pen name of Mai Nasara)

References:
1 Proverbs 17:25
2 Deuteronomy 32:7-8 (Contemporary English Version)
3 Ephesians 6:2-3
4 Matthew 18:16

BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR:





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More Than Half of Americans Now Own a Smartphone

2 Apr 2013 19:00 Africa/Lagos

Weekly Online Radio Audience Reaches an Estimated 86 Million Nationally Says New Arbitron/Edison Research Study

Study Also Reveals That More Than Half of Americans Now Own a Smartphone

COLUMBIA, Md., April 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- One in three Americans aged 12 and older now listen to all forms of online radio1 on a weekly basis according to the new national survey from Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) and Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2013: Navigating Digital Platforms.

The study, released today, is the 21st in a series of studies dating back to 1998. Among the many other findings:

Fifty-three percent of all Americans aged 12 and over (an estimated 139 million people) own a smartphone; three-quarters of those aged 18-to-34 own these devices
Weekly online radio listeners report listening for an average of 11 hours 56 minutes per week, up by more than two hours over last year's listening levels (9 hours 46 minutes in 2012), and nearly double that reported in 2008 (6 hours 13 minutes). During the same span of time, Arbitron's RADAR service indicates that AM/FM Radio has grown to 243 million weekly listeners and time spent listening has remained approximately two hours a day

More than one in four Americans (27 percent) check their social network several times per day, estimated at 71 million people.

AM/FM radio is an "almost all of the times" or "most of the times" in-car choice for nearly six in ten adults aged 18 and over; dashboard AM/FM radio (58 percent) far outpaces frequent in-car use of CD players (15 percent), portable digital audio/MP3 players (11 percent) and satellite radio (10 percent)

AM/FM Radio delivers far more consumers (49 percent) than other media during the half hour before they arrive to shop, more than twice the number reached by the next closest medium (advertising on Billboards at 21 percent)

Twenty-nine percent own a tablet; this is up more than 70 percent in the last year, compared to 17 percent ownership in 2012

Among the nearly half of Americans (45 percent) who say it is important to learn about and keep up-to-date with new music, AM/FM Radio is the top source for new music discovery at 78 percent

"We are now seeing the highest levels of weekly online radio listening with the increasing strength of AM/FM streams and other online radio brands and the near ubiquity of devices in which consumers can listen," said Bill Rose, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Arbitron.

"In the smartphone, the majority of Americans now have powerful computers in their pockets, which has irrevocably altered not only out-of-home listening behavior, but out-of-home purchase behavior as well," added Tom Webster, Vice President of Strategy and Marketing, Edison Research.

This study, as well as previous studies, may be downloaded free of charge via the Arbitron and Edison Research websites at www.arbitron.com and www.edisonresearch.com.

How the study was conducted

A total of 2,021 persons were interviewed to investigate Americans' use of digital platforms and new media. From January 15 to February 10, 2013, telephone interviews were conducted with respondents age 12 and older chosen at random from a national sample of Arbitron's Fall 2012 survey diarykeepers and through random digit dialing (RDD) sampling in geographic areas where Arbitron diarykeepers were not available for the survey. Diarykeepers represent 45% of the completed interviews and RDD sampled respondents represent 55% of the completed interviews. The study includes a total of 711 cell phone interviews.

About Arbitron

Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is an international media and marketing research firm serving the media—radio, television, cable, and out-of-home—the mobile industry, as well as advertising agencies and advertisers around the world. Arbitron's businesses include: measuring network and local market radio audiences across the United States; surveying the retail, media, and product patterns of U.S. consumers; providing mobile audience measurement and analytics in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia; and developing application software used for analyzing media audience and marketing information data.

The Company has developed the Portable People Meter™ (PPM®) and the PPM 360™, new technologies for media and marketing research.

About Edison Research

Edison Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to a broad array of clients, including Activision, AMC Theatres, Disney, Dolby, Google, MTV, Samsung, Siemens, Time Warner, Yahoo!, The Voice of America and Zenithmedia. Edison Research works with many of the largest American radio ownership groups, including Entercom, Clear Channel, CBS Radio and Radio One. Another specialty for Edison is its work for media companies throughout the world, conducting research in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Edison Research is the sole provider of election exit poll data for the six major news organizations: ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC and the Associated Press. Edison is also the leading provider of consumer exit polling and has conducted face-to-face research in almost every imaginable venue.

Portable People Meter™, PPM®, and PPM 360® are marks of Arbitron Inc.

1Online Radio = Listening to AM/FM radio stations online and/or listening to audio content available only on the Internet.

SOURCE Arbitron Inc.

CONTACT: Kim Myers, Arbitron Inc., 410-312-8500, kim.myers@arbitron.com; or Tom Webster, Edison Research, 908-707-4707, twebster@edisonresearch.com

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

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IMAX® & Los Angeles Times Offer Fans Early Hero Complex Screenings Of Universal Pictures' Oblivion

Oblivion is an original and groundbreaking cinematic event from the director of TRON: Legacy. On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man's confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind.
The film stars Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, and Olga Kurylenko.



In US theaters on April 19, 2013.

Worldwide release dates here

2 Apr 2013 15:00 Africa/Lagos

IMAX® & Los Angeles Times Offer Fans Early Hero Complex Screenings Of Universal Pictures' Oblivion

LIVE Q&A WITH TOM CRUISE AND DIRECTOR JOSEPH KOSINSKI TO BE SIMULCAST BETWEEN NEW YORK AND NINE CITIES ON APRIL 15

LOS ANGELES, April 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX), Universal Pictures, a division of Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), and Los Angeles Times today announced that the next feature in The Times' Hero Complex IMAX® Screening Series will be Universal Pictures' Oblivion . An interactive, live Q&A with Tom Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski, moderated by Times film writer Rebecca Keegan, will follow the screening in the IMAX® theatre at New York City's AMC Loews 34th Street 14 on Monday, April 15, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Oblivion opens nationwide on April 19, with special IMAX previews starting April 18 at 8:00 p.m. local time. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111107/MM01969LOGO )

The post-screening Q&A will be simulcast via satellite to nine additional IMAX theatres in Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego and Virginia Beach. The discussion will also stream live at the Hero Complex as well as IMAX's Facebook page. Audiences in all 10 cities and online viewers will be able to submit potential questions in real time via Twitter by using #oblivion.

Tickets and additional details will be available beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET on April 3 at www.OblivionHero.com. Attendance is free and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

"We're excited to team up with our partners at Universal and Los Angeles Times for this exciting Hero Complex event – offering fans who are feverishly anticipating this cinematic spectacle an early way to connect with the film by speaking directly with Tom Cruise and Joe Kosinski," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Entertainment. "It will also allow audiences to experience the film the way in which it was intended to be seen – in IMAX."

"Whenever possible, we involve moviegoers in the fascinating world of filmmaking, and this Hero Complex event will bring fans into the breathtaking universe that Joe and Tom created with Oblivion," said Nikki Rocco, President of Distribution, Universal Pictures. "We offer our thanks to IMAX and Los Angeles Times for supporting this simulcast screening and join audiences across the country as we're transported into this fantastic adventure."

"Bringing together Oblivion, the 'wow' factor of IMAX theatres, Los Angeles Times' editorial expertise and a nationwide simulcast will create the kind of spectacle Hero Complex fans crave," said Times Executive Vice President, Advertising, Michael J. Tannourji. "The Times is pleased to collaborate with Hollywood in developing inventive experiences that engage and thrill audiences."

The IMAX presentation of Oblivion has been specially formatted to feature a larger aspect ratio than the conventional release for the entirety of the film. Exclusively in IMAX, this aspect ratio has been optimized to take advantage of the IMAX screen, allowing audiences to see more of the image and result in a full panorama of the action – further immersing them into the vast scale and scope of the film.

The award-winning Hero Complex debuted on latimes.com in 2008 and has evolved to become the go-to resource for all things geek, covering every aspect of sci-fi, fantasy, horror and pop culture entertainment. Its Screening Series, presented by IMAX, kicked-off in 2010 with Kosinski's TRON: Legacy.

Oblivion has been digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

About OBLIVION
Tom Cruise stars in Oblivion, an original and groundbreaking cinematic event from the visionary director of TRON: Legacy and producers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man's confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind.

2077: Jack Harper (Cruise) serves as a security repairmen stationed on an evacuated Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying alien threat who still scavenges what's left of our planet, Jack's mission is almost complete. In a matter of two weeks, he will join the remaining survivors on a lunar colony far from the war-torn world he has long called home.

Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, Jack's soaring existence is brought crashing down after he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Drawn to Jack through a connection that transcends logic, her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he thought he knew. With a reality that is shattered as he discovers shocking truths that connect him to Earth of the past, Jack will be pushed to a heroism he didn't know he contained within. The fate of humanity now rests solely in the hands of a man who believed our world was soon to be lost forever.

Oblivion was shot in stunning digital 4K resolution on location across the United States and Iceland. www.oblivionmovie.com

About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of Dec. 31, 2012, there were 731 IMAX theatres (598 commercial multiplexes, 19 commercial destinations and 114 institutions) in 53 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience® and IMAX Is Believing® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

About the Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of 1.5 million and 2.6 million on Sunday, more than 23 million unique latimes.com visitors monthly and a combined print and online local weekly audience of 4.1 million. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Times has been covering Southern California for more than 131 years.

The Los Angeles Times Media Group (LATMG) businesses and affiliates also include The Envelope, Times Community News, and Hoy Los Angeles which, combined with the flagship Los Angeles Times, reach approximately 5.2 million or 39% of all adults in the Southern California marketplace. LATMG also owns California Community News , LLC, operates Tribune Direct LA, and is part of Tribune Company, one of the country's leading media companies with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting. Additional information is available at http://latimes.com/aboutus.

This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in IMAX's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

For additional information please contact:

Media:
IMAX Corporation , New York
Ann Sommerlath
212-821-0155
asommerlath@imax.com

Los Angeles Times , Los Angeles
John Conroy
213-237-4791
john.conroy@latimes.com

Entertainment Media:
Principal Communications Group , Los Angeles
Melissa Zukerman/Paul Pflug
323-658-1555
melissa@pcommgroup.com
paul@pcommgroup.com

Investors:

IMAX Corporation – New York

Teri Loxam

212-821-0110

tloxam@imax.com

Business Media:

Sloane & Company – New York

Whit Clay

212-446-1864

wclay@sloanepr.com

SOURCE IMAX Corporation

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

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Nigerian Security, Where Was the Presidential Generator on Easter Day?

Nigerian Security, where was the Presidential Generator on Easter Day?

The question is not about the chronic impoverished power supply in Nigeria as we all know about this aspect of our national instability. What is worrisome is that the officials of the State Security Service (SSS) as the agents in charge of protecting the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria failed in their sense of responsibility as it relates to adequate vast state security detail—as in the case of instant light visibility for security purpose.

Hopefully, they now know that constant backup in terms of power supply must present at all times and be of necessity for the President’s safety. While it was realistic for the President to experience the power supply problems in the people’s lives, the second the power supply went off as the President gave his Easter message on Sunday at the Our Savior’s Church in Lagos; the next second should have shown the sudden effect of what could be described as the Presidential Generator (PG).

With the volatile nature of our national security the reported six minute power outage is enough time for any hostile person or group to cause grave national crisis.
It was reported that an ex-Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon also experienced the same power outage before President Jonathan’s reported situation which should have served as a signal for power supply emergency preparation.

Henceforth, everywhere the President goes should be mounted with a portable and powerful standby generator enough to carry the whole area of Tafawa Balewa square, Lagos.

If truth be told the SSS agents almost placed the two Presidents in a very difficult spot when it failed to adopt a proactive approach towards this type of risky and emergency situation.
The guiding principle of security work is the continued need for review of security measures in order to balance the need for efficient security and swift protective response.
In fact, within that five to six minutes of power outage the usual practice of using flashlight or light from cell phones as in the case of some Nigerian doctors operating patients under the light of lanterns and cell phones may not have worked well in this situation.

This sort of peculiar reinforcement tools may not be able to withstand any possible number of huge threats against the President and the entire Church celebrants.
From now on the nation’s security agencies should draw out procedures for a Presidential Generator (PG) in order to show the people that there is an ongoing protection for the President or any ex-Head of State.

In Jonathan’s own words on Easter day, he stated “We have our challenges as a nation in these days of terrorism (or extremism). It’s quite sad. I can assure you that we are working very hard and we will continue to work very hard and God willing terror attacks will not divide this country”.

One then wonders if the SSS is organizationally aware and current of these possible security risks and challenges, if so let the world see them setting up and mounting the presidential generator when next the President is scheduled for a speaking tour or visit across the country.


~ By John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D.
Jos5930458@aol.com

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President Jonathan, We Must Stop the Killing Fields of Jos

Over 10, 000 people have been killed in the recurrent Jos Crises in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria since 2001 to date. And the government has failed the resolve the ethnic, political and religious causes of these crimes against humanity.

Mr. President, order for real community policing within the killing areas of Central Nigeria.

Mr. President, not again, as several citizens with many of them sleeping when they were reportedly killed during the dawn of the night, as in what occurred a few days ago in the Barkin Ladi area of Jos,Plateau State.

This is not the first time as the world has heard,dating back to 2010 about the deadly night and day terror and killings around Jos.

Mr. President, often one hears about the beautiful name of Joint Task Force (JTF), made up of police and the military that are reportedly patrolling some areas of Jos. But here is the problem. This is not real community patrolling as they are not deeply in the rural communities and the remote corners were the village inhabitants live and are killing each other.

Mr. President, don’t you expect that the combined force of police, soldiers and other law enforcement agents ought to be present in these villages at both day and night time, and at the right time?

Also, regardless of whether the violence is as a result of scrambling for land or cattle, village power, or fighting over ethnic or religious differences, or poverty;one thing is clear there is no full or active security force on the premise to help prevent both sides from engaging in the ongoing horrendous killing in the villages.

Why the leaders of the police and military will not make their men and women to be physically present in these known attack areas is beyond common sense understanding.
Unless something sensible is done we will again lose more lives in the coming months and years, and remain the laughing stock among democratic nations.

Real community policing means active partnership with the villagers, effectively watching over them, solving their social problems, enabling them with security and public safety tips, culturally responding to their concerns, and advocating for them.
Community policing means being around the potential victims at the right time, at the right place and having the right weapons and tools at the point where violence is about to occur or is occurring.


The security forces often arrive after the mayhem.

Community policing means being proactive to the people’s needs, and it is not in form of there active manner we always see, whereby our soldiers and police begin running into the area of fire and violence after it has long started or almost ended.

A line of community policing with a full implementation of a comprehensive policy is characterized by a long-term, proactive and focused approach. Giving what we already know about the nature of this violence, a non-stop-JTF presence and activities could bring reasonable control of the violence and meet the intervention needs of the people, as well as reach the targeted control over the troubled areas.

Community policing means not distancing JTF members from the people in need who could be able to provide valuable intelligence and the necessary information as long as there is some degree of trust and positive relationship between the people and the task force based community patrol and surveillance.

Community policing means going beyond just being illusive in terms of name but being active with full blown acts like foot-patrol, neighborhood presence, and helping to improve the quality of life of the people.

Mr. President, if the respective chiefs of our security agencies can only form a real and non-artificial rapport with each other, such relationship could extend to the rank and file, to the supervisors, and certainly to the communities in need.
Community policing work mostly work well in a non-rigid chain of command so as to enable free flow of information, and secure full interaction between all levels of players, in order to expand the spans of quick response.

Mr. President, the truth is that it is time for the Nigerian security forces, the Nigeria police especially to become more decentralized, to become more of an open system, so as to allow for swift and better deployment of officers in targeted communities. By doing this we will allow for quick as well as for effective response to the people.

In the absence of real community policing the quality of actions by the security agents will continue to be reactive in style and action,that means, they will continue to come into the areas of attack after most of villages have been raided, properties fully burnt down, and the killings have completed and the attackers have escaped.


~ By John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D.
jos5930458@aol.com

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600, 000 Farming Households In Akwa Ibom Are Using Bad Pesticides

Photo Credit: George Monbiot's blog + Pesticides.


600, 000 Farming Households In Akwa Ibom Are Using Bad Pesticides

Do you know that a report of a study done in Akwa Ibom State found that 600,000 farming households used pesticides of some type (usually improperly, and usually banned pesticides because they were the cheapest even on the black market). And I can bet you that the government is totally ignorant of this catastrophe!

Read the full report of Dr. AJ Udoh on http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Issue/pn40/pn40p8.htm

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