DAMI BANKS: April 2013

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Queen Beatrix of Netherland abdicates; hands crown to first son

75 year old Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated today April 30th after 33 years as queen and handed over her throne and crown to her eldest son at a ceremony that held on the balcony at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. 46 year old Willem-Alexander will be the first King of the Netherlands since 1890. The former queen will now be addressed as Princess Beatrix.

Imagine 86 year old Queen Elizabeth of England handing over her crown to Prince Charles! That will be the day! Hehe. See more photos after the cut...

Queen Beatrix signs the act of abdication next to her son Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife Crown Princess Maxima

Queen Beatrix passes the act of abdication to her son Crown Prince Willem-Alexander

Celebs Tweet support for first openly gay NBA player, Jason Collins

Well, not all celebrities and sportsmen. Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace (pictured left) wasn't supportive. See what he Tweeted above. Lol. Like many of us, he too doesn't understand same sex attraction. But others showed their support, which is a good thing. See their Tweets after the cut..

Chris Brown and Rihanna Squash Break Up Rumors

Guess Rihanna wanted to shut down the break up rumours. She posted this pic of herself and her one true love on her instagram page last night.

VIBE names R.Kelly the Greatest Musical Genius Since 1993

In their '20 Greatest Musical Geniuses Since 1993' list which was released this week, Vibe Magazine gave R.Kelly the number spot. See the top 10 below and tell us if you agree...

10. Missy Elliot
9. RZA
8. Thom Yorke
7. Timbaland
6. Jay Z
5. Notorious B.I.G
4. Diddy
3. Dr Dre
2. Kanye West
1. R. Kelly

Rick Ross offers formal apology

After being dropped from a lucrative endorsement deal with Reebok over his date rape lyrics; “Put molly all in her champagne, she aint even know it, I took her home and I enjoyed that, she aint even know it,", Rick Ross finally offers a real apology...

“Before I am an artist, I am a father, a son, and a brother to some of the most cherished women in the world. So for me to suggest in any way that harm and violation be brought to a woman is one of my biggest mistakes and regrets. As an artist, one of the most liberating things is being able to paint pictures with my words. But with that comes a great responsibility. And most recently, my choice of words was not only offensive, it does not reflect my true heart. And for this, I apologize. To every woman that has felt the sting of abuse, I apologize. I recognize that as an artist I have a voice and with that, the power of influence. To the young men who listen to my music, please know that using a substance to rob a woman of her right to make a choice is not only a crime, it’s wrong and I do not encourage it. To my fans, I also apologize if I have disappointed you. I can only hope that this sparks a healthy dialogue and that I can contribute to it.”

–William Roberts (a.k.a “Rick Ross”)

Lynxxx, Omawumi, Tiwa Savage, Flavor, MI, Naeto C to be confirmed as new Glo ambassadors

I'm sure these celebrities will be wondering how I know this. Hehe. It was done very codedly through out last week...but like I always say, I have peeps everywhere...lol.

So here's the scoop. Lynxxx, Omawumi, Tiwa Savage, Flavour, MI, Bez, Naeto C, Chidynma (The Voice), and Lagbaja will soon be announced as the new ambassadors for telecoms giant, Globacom. The music stars or their reps met with the management of Glo at the conference room of Eko Hotel from Monday to Friday last week.

According to the inside gist I gathered, Glo is planning to cut down on the number of old Nollywood stars who are currently their ambassadors (I know some of the ones that will be dropped but let me not announce it here because they are yet to informed), and replace them with young, vibrant music stars. I hear the next phase will be comedians.

The new ambassadors have been interviewed, they have also negotiated the cost of engagement for a period of two years (They each will be getting between N10m/N20m annually). They have also agreed to terms and conditions for the engagement.

The stars are waiting for the official announcement after which they will all pick up their cheques. Good for them! Oh and remember; you read it here first! *wink*

Lebron James shows off nice body!

The basketball star posted this photo on his instagram page with the caption “Somebody call 911. The weight room just got murdered! Lol. Off day training. #strivingforgreatness #focused”.

Someone really needs to call 911. For a man this big...that can't be all na! You ladies see what I'm talking about? Lol *kidding*

Right engine of British Airways plane stops working before take-off at Abuja Airport

I got calls this morning from a few LIB readers inside a British Airways flight at the Abuja International Airport. They told me that the BA 8:30 flight to London was preparing to take off when the right engine of the plane just stopped working. They heard a noise and then smoke. The plane had to be towed back to the tarmac.

As at the last time I spoke with one of them, engineers were trying to fix the engine. I even heard the pilot making an announcement. They are not sure if the flight will continue or if it will be cancelled, but they are all still inside the plane at the moment. BA has been given 40 minutes to fix the engine or the flight will be cancelled...for safety reasons. Will keep you guys updated.

Update: All passengers have been asked to leave the plane
Update 2: The flight has been cancelled

Update on breast cancer patient, Debbie Idiagbonya

By now you all should know who Debbie Idiagbonya is. She is the young lady with breast cancer who traveled to the US in October 2012 for surgery. (If you missed it, read it HERE).

Here's an update on Debbie. Her treatment at Howard University Hospital is going really well. We thank God. She's also getting support from a few cancer support groups like African Women Cancer Awareness Association, Zuriworks For Women's Health, Dare to Courage and SEED.

Debbie has started another chemotherapy session which will last for four months before she does her radiation. See a healthy looking and smiling Debbie after the cut...

Please keep praying for her

Beyonce poses for H&M summer campaign

Official photos of Beyonce as Mrs. Carter for H&M has been released. Bey will appear in all ads as 'Beyoncé as Mrs. Carter in H&M.' She will appear in TV commericials, Billboards and print ads promoting H&M summer collection which she will help design. See more photos after the cut...

Samsung set to launch the new Samsung Galaxy S4 phone

Samsung, the foremost electronics company have given in to the cravings of its teeming consumers with the most sophisticated Galaxy yet. With incredibly-wide full HD super amoled screen, you can now pause your videos while watching by looking away, scroll your browser without touching your screen and manipulate all applications without touch of hand. It has 4 senses: ‘Samsung Smart Pause’, ‘Samsung Smart Scroll’, ‘Air View’ and ‘Air Gesture’. Continue...

It was produced to ensure that tasks are effortless with innovative features that detect your face, voice and motions to enable screen control with no need for finger touch activation”.

Samsung and MTN are in partnership to deliver this new evolution of smart phones presently available in two colours: Black Mist and White Frost. You can preorder from April with full launch in May.

Like our Samsung Facebook page www.facebook.com/samsungelectronics to keep up to date with all the new products and for more exciting stuff.

Preorder yours today as I already have. Totally rated “COOL”

Monday, 29 April 2013

Nigerian woman tries to commit suicide days before she was due to be deported from the UK

According to the Daily Mail, a 19 year old Nigerian girl married to a British man attempted to take her life just days before she was due to be deported to Nigeria. May Brown said she fled to the UK three years ago after witnessing her father's murder and being subjected to sexual abuse.

She settled in Dorset where she met and married Michael Brown in December 2012. May applied to stay in the UK and her application was rejected because UK Border Agency officials believed her marriage Michael was fake.

When May was informed that she would be deported today April 25th, she took an overdose of prescription pills. Meaning she would rather die than return to Nigeria. Choi! Nigeria is not that bad na. See the rest of the report after the cut...

Her mother-in-law, Helen-Claire Brown, found her collapsed on the bathroom floor on Monday morning with a note to her husband saying she 'couldn't live without him'. The teenager was rushed to the Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester where she remains in a coma in intensive care.

May wrote: 'I am deeply sorry that I had to go this way, without even saying goodbye. The UK immigration has finally driven me insane. They've pushed me too far this time and I can't take the pain any more. I don't want a life or a future you won't be part of. I love you so much, more than life itself and can't endure the agony of not being with you. Please forgive me for ending it this way. It's better to die with my dignity than be subjected to torture and undignified death back in Nigeria.'

Before she took the overdose, May had said she feared her abusers would kill her if she returned to the African country because she witnessed her father's death.

She said: 'If they send me back to Nigeria they are signing my death warrant, they will cut my life short because I will be killed. I have found peace with Michael, he gave me a reason to live. I have got a family here and we don't claim any benefits. Michael works and I am studying to become a barrister, we have not harmed anybody.'

Mr Brown, a former soldier who now works for a removals company, insisted the couple's marriage was genuine and slammed the UK Border Agency for its treatment of his wife.
He said: 'May is the most beautiful, kindest, loving person I have ever met. I can't live with myself if anything happens to her. She is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with and you can't pretend something like that. All we want is a life together. But I'm so angry that is being taken away from us.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'We cannot comment in detail on this case while legal proceedings are ongoing.
'In cases where people are found to have no right to remain in the UK they should leave voluntarily or face removal.'

Source: Daily Mail

Sunday, 28 April 2013

Naomi Campbell goes blonde for Vogue Brazil

That's a 42 year old woman. Wowsa! The sueprmodel went blonde for the next issue of Vogue Brazil. See more photos after the cut...

Meet the man deported from Saudi Arabia for being 'too handsome'

Drop dead gorgeous actor, poet and fashion photographer Omar Borkan Al Gala (pictured above) from UAE was one of the three men ordered to leave a cultural festival early this month in Saudi Arabia and then thrown out of the country because authorities thought their looks could corrupt their young women.

Arabic newspaper Elaph wrote: ‘A festival official said the three Emiratis were taken out on the grounds they are too handsome and that the commission (for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices) members feared female visitors could fall for them.’

Lol. Some silly things you hear. Meanwhile if he's over 30 and straight, they should please import him to Naija, biko! Those lips...choi! Hehe. See more photos after the cut...