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Karen Igho the controversial housemate in the Big Brother Amplified edition has been declared winner of the reality show, alongside Wendhall Parson of Zimbabwe. The two would share the $400,000(Four Hundred thousand US Dollars) grand prize. Karen's triumph at the Big Brother Amplified edition made it the third time that a Nigerian would be winning the reality show. She also made history as the first Nigerian female winner of the widely acclaimed Africa's biggest reality show. Karen, a self styled 'gangster' was considered the 'life line' of the Big Brother Amplified edition because of her because of the way she held the viewers spell bound. Karen won with overwhelming votes from Nigeria, Angola, Rest of Africa, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania. Wendhal won votes cast in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya while Luclay won in South Africa and Botswana. Karen, a Nigerian and  former stripper in the UK first got into limelight after news and photos of her breast enlargemen...

Remains of  the helicopter crashed victims that happened between ife Odan ills and Ogbomosho have been identified. Their names are Reverend (Mrs) Josephine Oluwadamilola Kuteyi,the managing director of Josepdam Sugar Company, Bacita, Kwara State, her personal assiatant, Mrs. Adedoyin Ogunbanjo and the pilot,Captain Annord, a  Filipino According to Dr Harold Demuren, Director General of the National Civil Aviation Authority, Mrs Kuteyi, chartered flight from OAS Helicopters in Maryland, Lagos. The unfortunate incident happened in the morning. On why the helicopter crashed, Demuren said  the aircraft, with registration 5N-BKA belonging to OAS Helicopter Services, was flying very low unfortunately it crashed into very high hills. Information gathered from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said poor visibility in bad weather also added to the accident. They are still doing more investigation to prevent a re-occurrence of the incident. The minister of ...

Spice TV, a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle Channel from the stable of CMA ( Consolidated Media Associates ) content provider of Soundcity, Tellevista and VillageSquare presents the 2011 edition of Spice Haute Party. Spice Haute Party is a quarterly exclusive gathering of the affluent, professionals, fashion designers, musicians and technocrats in an atmosphere of glamour and luxury. Come the 5 th of August Spice TV will gather fashion and music lovers at Four Point Hotel for a night of fun and social networking. The event will feature a sneak display of runway fashion from some of Nigeria’s notable designers, music performances from top artistes and majorly an amusing atmosphere to mingle and network. The event is proudly supported by Hennessey, Four Point by Sheraton , Mania magazine , Soundcity Channel and Sleek Make Up. gistmaster.com news@gistmaster.com

The model and singer that brought us 'Omalicha' and 'Thinking about you' was apparently been busy with putting together a body of work to convince critics that she is not a fluke. Ego Omalicha signed to Questionmark Entertainment is set to follow up on the success of her singles 'Omalicha', 'Thinking about you' duet with Harrysong and the allstar record 'I want you with a Password produced track. Ego, Born Jennnifer Oduah made an impressive debut with the release of 'Omalicha' which was written and produced by Harrysong and Del B respectively last year with the charting topping video for her second single  'Thinking about you' which was released earlier in the year. Ego was featured on the popular MTV Iggy show where she contended for votes to beat other artistes from Africa and Europe. The new single is titled 'Alcohol' and produced by Password, the same producer that delivered General Pype's Hit record - Cham...

The governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha was heavily criticized for appointing too many political aides.One such was the appointment of Uche Ogbuagu as Chief Comedian of Imo state. This is an unprecedented position in the history of politics all over the world. Here,Uche Ogbuagu the chief comedian answered questions posed to him by Joi John of Imo State political blog. Q: Your appointment as Special Assistant in the State came under scruitiny with the Portfolio as Chief Comedian in the State. Could you enlighten us on your Office as Chief Comedian of the State? A:As you know, the Entertainment industry cannot do without Comedy so, I see myself as the only representative of the Entertainers in the State Executive council. The office of the Chief Comedian is a representation of the Entertainment industry in the State Executive Council.In this position, I am saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the Entertainment Industry in Imo sta...

The Sultan of Sokoto, Mohamed Sa'ad Abubakar has openly condemned the violent crackdown on the Boko Haram sect by the military. The sultan  told some religious leaders that violence can not solve violence.He insisted that government shouild employ other means to put the situation under control. Before his ascension to the throne, the Sultan was also a military officer. Boko Haram, an islamist group based in Maiduguri, Borno State (Northern part of Nigeria) has claimed responsibilities for several high profile assassinations  and bombings in the northern part of Nigeria and Abuja the Federal capital territory, including the one involving a suicide bomber at the Loius Edet House Police Headquarters. The group, whose original name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (meaning-People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad) has been championing the cause of Islamic rule in northern Nigeria). Boko Haram, the unofficial name of the group in...

The South Africa Fashion Week winter and summer collections is set to take place between October 2011. According to information sent to gistmaster.com today,the winter collections would be showcased at Crowne Plaza, Rosebank between September 22 and 25. The SA Fashion Week Summer pop up shop 201 collections would hold at Sandton City Fountain Court between October 30 and 2 October. SNEAK PEAK-GUGULUM South African designer, Gugulum dream is to create timeless designs. She was a stylist for Soul magazine before setting up her label in 2008. Where did you study? I studied at the Wits Technikon. How long have you been designing. I have been a designer for many years but my label has been operation for three years now. When you start with a collection do you start from scratch or build on an existing collections? I start my collection from scratch and then pull in some ideas from my other collections if necessary. Does your culture have an influence in your design aesthetic? The world cul...

Unbelievable but true . Finally a proper fashion hot spot will be unveiled in the city of a Lagos . This new hub will be centered around the monthly shopping event that takes place at Le Petit Marche . The new shoppers haven which will be known as L'Espace is still very much in the pipeline but it will soon be brought to the fore. Below are some of the breathtaking images of what is to come . About L’Espace In the storied tradition of international fashion and lifestyle retail, LPM is curating a permanent multi-brand concept store tailored to the needs of the Nigerian public – filling a yawning chasm in the retail value chain for both the fashion entrepreneur and the buying public. The co-branded store will be an addition to the monthly market in Lagos, and the LPM team plans to roll out the existing monthly market as well as concept stores in Abuja and Port Harcourt mid 2012. WHO We are interested in hearing from vendors in the following categories: - Fashion (Menswear, Womenswea...

On Saturday, 30 th of July 2011, Fashion Lovers will come to witness ‘The Making’ a scheme with anobjective of bringing to the limelight young budding designers to work withexperienced designers and stylists in a once in a lifetime opportunity tointeract with business development and entrepreneur managers in order tobroaden their skills on business management. “The Making” which will comein form of a TV Show to air on Saturdays on "Urban Spice" on Spice TV and Page3 on STVSunday 2pm and Tuesday 9pm will show in depth – weekly, the chance and opportunity at what it takes to takefashion designing to the next level. Fashion Lovers and audiencewill follow for 10weeks apanel of seasoned and experienced stylists and designers as they are given theopportunity to subject their designs to critical appraisals, evaluations andrecommendations, at the end of which a list of Ten designers will be selectedbased on the following key criteria. These are: ·         ST...

 Mercedes Benz Nigeria , has opened and ultra modern center in Lekki. Situated at Prince Samuel Adedoyin Street, Off Lekki-Epe Expressway, 3rd Roundabout .Ikate - Lekki, Lagos. The event witnessed top government dignitaries and notable personalities in attendance. The Delta State Governor , Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan announced its opening admist pomp and pageantry .

For 4 years now Mercedes Benz Nigeria has been the proud sponsor of the internationally recognized Elite Model Look which was created in 1983. The Elite Model Look contest has become the largest glamorous, and prestigious model search in the world. Each year, and in over 50 countries, organisers strictly recruited by Elite,set up regional and national contests, in which 350,000 applicants take part. Mercedes Benz is once again part of this prestigious event and the Mercedes Benz Sprinter will be the official vehicle conveying the finalists this year. The Mercedes Benz Minibus Sprinter.

By Niyi Tabiti I spent sometime asking questions about whats next for ex- Fashion Editor of City People magazine, Miss Bola Akinboade recently. Here is the interview Gistmaster : What are the things you intend doing now after resigning from your position as city people magazine's fashion editor? Right now my dream is to have my event outfit and also have a fashion label. I have always loved fashion designing; I have attended a fashion school couple of years back, I am just waiting for the right timing. I didn’t just want to start and end up being like just another designer coming up so for now, I am starting with my event/PR outfit, reason because that is much easier for me to start with and with my years with City People, i have been exposed. I have handled couple of event and it has given me confidence that I can also do that and for the fashion label that is CHANTALLE, I am still hoping to do an advanced training before I start officially. Hopefully, towards the end...

Immediately after his concert tour in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, the multi-talented, and multiple award-winning American entertainer Ludacris will be accompanied by his renowned manager, and co-founder of Disturbing Tha Peace Records- Chaka Zulu Obafemi, to Lagos Nigeria to kick-off an Africa-wide project in partnership with Konnect Afrika. Details of this ?landmark project? will be made public at the Volar Nite club (Jade Palace), in Victoria Island on Sunday, the 31st of July, 2011 at an exclusive V.I.P party with the top brass of Nigerian entertainment, and media personalities. This project is powered by Konnect Afrika, an entertainment company based in Atlanta, United States and Lagos, Nigeria, in collaboration with Disturbing Tha Peace Records, a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group is a United States based record label founded by Chaka Zulu Obafemi , Ludacris, and Jeff Dixon. According to Solomon Sonaiya, the spokesperson for this project, when we refer to this event as the adve...

Chat 222 helps you stay in touch with friends, families and many acquaintances. With its dual SIM capability, you can access your two SIMS anytime which makes you save money and other resources. Undeniably entertaining are its pre installed social tools such as facebook, twitter, and some instant messaging sites such as yahoo messenger and MSN. Chatting with your friends has never been so smooth with its QWERTY keypad. It enables you to stay on top of your game as you can access your email with its push email capability. With the Samsung chat 222, email accounts can be set up easily so you can check for urgent email without needing a PC. And last but not the least, it also comes with a 3.5mm ear jack for you to listen to your favourite songs and spend all your free time entertaining yourself with all fun games on Samsung apps. Its battery life is 550hr on standby and 710 min for talk time. Common guys, what are you waiting for? Get on the CHAT 222 tribe as Connecting, Socializing and E...

Designer &; Stylist Bukola Are Reveals HVS De Luxe Ad Campaigns After a successful presentation of the new HVS De Luxe Collection during New York Fashion Week, Fashion Designer, Stylist Bukola Are reveals new Ad Campaigns to promote her new collection. The HVS Fall 2011 collection entitled De Luxe features a mixture of effortless, versatile, modern couture pieces, with the finest workmanship and handcrafted detailing. This season’s collection features flirty, elegant and classic daytime-to-evening pieces. Inspired by her travels, Are has selected fabrics ranging from Satin Lame, Swiss Lace, Sequence and Prints from West Africa. "I always look forward to the branding part of the collection, it’s my favorite part. I enjoy the creative process of coming up with ideas of how to promote HVS and maintain story telling by presenting the HVS Lifestyle.”- Bukola Are The Ad Campaigns were shot on location in the UK with Fashion Photographers David Otokpa & ...

Yup! there you have it -Kelly Rowland in her birthday suit. The crooner is definitely not resting on her oars as she speaks about everything from her album sales in Europe to coming into her sexuality while recording her new album with a song that currently in the new VIBE’s August/September 2011 Juice Issue.. With her album currently sitting comfy at #2 on the R&B charts, a new role as a judge for X-Factor UK and now the covergirl for VIBE, the songstress truly solidifying her place as a sex symbol in the industry . Steamy , aye? Source - Coco and Creme

If its anything to go by, the new Alpha Swan collection of Marayah O is Uber fab. The collection encapsulates the dictates of the season - Bright , Fun, Happy and Sassy .

Fashion Lounge – A Fashion Networking Party is the brainchild of Rachael Taiwo-Akingbade and Kemi Akande, Rachael and Kemi both have several years of experience in the fashion and events industry. Rachael owns Lavish Lingerie Couture and Kemi owns Inspirebusinessworld.com – The duo have cooked up an opportunity for those in the fashion industry to network and gain exposure. The event is scheduled to take place each month, however, the big launch which will be televised by MTV Base on Thursday 28th July at Lagos’ newest hot spot Chrome. The event is going to be flowing with celebrities, models, modelling agencies, celebrity stylists, media tycoons, make-up artists, photographers and beauty and fashion magazines and other fashion industry professional. The launch will be spectacular and this will be the most exclusive night Lagos has ever seen! Don’t miss out on an opportunity to meet and socialize with the right mix of people to further your interests and aspirations within...

Why is there so much violence where love is obtainable? Does the husband have monopoly of violence in the home? Who suffers the most from all the violence? These were the outlined questions that defined ‘Damage’ a new movie by Nollywood sultry actress and producer Uche Jombo, which addresses societal ills to its roots without losing its cue for entertainment. All set to be premiered on July 31st, 2011 at the Silverbird Galleria in Lagos, ‘Damage’ features Nollywood finest, Uche Jombo, Kalu Ikeagwu, Tonto Dikeh, Basorge Tariah Jr and others. The thrilling movie ‘Damage’, tells the story of love and the pain of domestic violence with a style that projects the subject as one that has not been threaded before in a movie. A man (Kalu Ikeagwu) and his wife (Uche Jombo) love each other immensely yet their day to day life can only be described as a ‘cat and mouse’ situation. They fight violently almost on a daily basis and one of the long run effects of their fights is the psychological tortu...

Unbelivable !!!Is this Da Brat? The rapper, who first rose to fame in the 90s, was recently featured in a shoot for Vibe Magazine. With a head full of curly locks, light makeup and defined brows, Da Brat is an undeniable beauty. The fashion adds to her new softer, more Bohemian look with maxidresses, ivory-hued tunics and bold jewelry. It can be remembered that Da Brat was sentenced to three years in prison back in 2008when she was charged with hitting a woman in the face with a alcohol bottle at Missy’s Birthday party. Da Brat, real name Shawntae Harris, was arguing with a waitress/model named Shala Stevens working at JD’s Club 72, when a fight broke out and Da Brat ended up hitting Stevens with a bottle of rum. Stevens suffered lacerations to her cheek and swelling to her forehead. In Stevens lawsuit she says she suffered permanent disfigurement and mental distress as a result of the attack. Then and Now pics after the break  Before Now

Beauty giant MAC Cosmetics just named Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin the newest MAC Viva Glam spokesmodels according to The Glamazons. The Latin crooner and Young Money rapstress are shooting ads today with famed photographer David La Chapelle and the campaign is slated to debut in February 2012. With a successful lipstick deal for Pink Friday with MAC under her belt, we’re proud to see Nicki Minaj nail her first major beauty advertising campaign with the same company. Handsome singer Ricky Martin, who recently and proudly announced that he is gay, is an ideal spokesperson for the campaign as well and a testament to MAC’s dedication to diversity and inclusion. Well what do you say? Nicki - we get but Ricky ? Is it because he is Gay?

OSLO – (AFP) – The 32-year-old Norwegian suspected of killing as many as 93 people in a bombing and shooting rampage arrived Monday early afternoon in a closed Oslo courtroom for his first remand hearing. Anders Behring Breivik entered the hearing, state news agency NTB said, after being driven in through the basement of the downtown Oslo courthouse, a security official also said. Norway gunman in closed court hearing as nation falls silent Norway fell silent on Monday for the victims of a bombing and shooting spree as the man accused of carrying out the killings was to appear at a closed hearing before a court in Oslo. As the nation struggled to absorb the impact of its worst postwar tragedy, thousands of people bowed their heads in silence outside Oslo’s main university at a ceremony led by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and King Harald V. “To remember the victims who died at the government’s headquarters and on the island of Utoeya, I declare a minute of silence,” said Stoltenberg...

Need we say more? NEXT Newspaper’s verdict on the most anticipated movie of 2011, MIRROR BOY (featuring Genevieve Nnaji and Osita Iheme): [caption id="attachment_6441" align="alignleft" width="319" caption="Obi Emelonye"] [/caption] It may be tempting to say, ‘Well, what's the hullabaloo about? Yet another film made by a Nigerian filmmaker abroad. Is this supposed to be another movie in the ranks of ‘Ije' ‘The Figurine' and ‘Anchor Baby' made to challenge questions like, ‘Can anything good really come out of Nollywood?' Perhaps it is. ‘Mirror Boy', shown at a press screening at Ozone Cinemas, Lagos on Tuesday July 19, did say a lot of things in a seemingly effortless way. It's no mean feat telling a story, creating memorable characters and capturing an audience in the space of an hour and a half. Nonetheless, Tijan, the main character in ‘Mirror Boy', was intriguing enough to captivate. The film also says something...