FRESH 4RM GIM

The pop star has worked with avant-garde artists for her latest album, Artpop. She speaks with Miranda Sawyer in an off-the-wall interview for The Culture Show. Lady Gaga − sphinx-like on a makeshift throne − is surrounded by mannequins draped in white material. She takes long (sometimes minutes-long) pauses between questions, eyes closed. “Life is art all the time” she says. Thus continues The Culture Show’s often bizarre, always compelling interview with Gaga, as interviewer Miranda Sawyer gamely navigates the pop star’s eccentric behaviour. This is not a normal interview:  it is part performance art, part meditation. Could it be down to the company Gaga has been keeping? In the lead up to the release of her latest album, Artpop, Gaga tweeted to her 40m-plus twitter followers that she had been working with avant-garde New York performance artist Marina Abramovic, “high priest of experimental theatre” Robert Wilson and bubble-dog big-wig Jeff Koons, although sh...

Twitter America’s biggest music awards are still hugely important for the boost they give artists. So, Greg Kot asks, why is their history littered with mistakes? Love or hate them, the Grammy Awards are usually the one evening all year that most of America pays attention to music. It’s the sole music awards show in the US that matters. No one knows who won the MTV Music Video Awards the next day, only that somebody did something outrageous (take a bow, Miley Cyrus). But the Grammys actually have a significant impact on sales. In recent years, artists such as Adele, Frank Ocean and Arcade Fire have benefited from 100%-plus bumps in album sales in the days following their nationally televised appearances on the awards show. Who’s going to get the boost this year? I’d bet on Ella Yelich-O'Connor, otherwise known as Lorde, who is in the running for four awards on 26 January in Los Angeles. Oddly enough, the best new artist award isn’t among them. For all their...

The EU wants the West African region to open up 80 per cent of its market Representatives of the member countries of the Economic Community of West African State, ECOWAS, and the European Union, EU, are to resume negotiations towards Economic Partnership Agreement, EPA, for the creation of a free trade area in the region. The negotiations, which were suspended in 2012, following divergences over market access offer and the EPA Development Programme, EPADP, resumed in Dakar, Senegal, on Monday, with senior officials in attendance. The EPADP is a dedicated funding programme to enable West Africa cope with the cost of adjustment to the impending trade regime. Initially, West Africa had offered to open 60 per cent of its market over 25 years. It later revised the position to 70 per cent over the same period, citing the protection of the region’s fragile industrial base from cheaper goods from the EU. On the other hand, the EU had maintained its origina...

The federal government will this year pump more cash into constructing an elite wing of the presidential clinic in Abuja where only a few big and mighty will receive attention, a spending that dwarfs the total funds allocated by government for entire developmental projects of two federal university teaching hospitals. Under the proposed 2014 budget laid to the National Assembly last December, the “Construction of a VIP Wing at the State House Clinic will cost N705 million.” That amount surpasses the government’s budgeted cost for the building of new wards (buildings), laboratories and all other developmental projects in two university teaching hospitals. For instance, the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, have been allocated a total of N662 million for capital expenditure this year. The two medical facilities are only part of a long list of teaching hospitals which have their capital spending this year ou...

Fifty-two members of the Nigeria Senate, nearly half of its membership of 109, have written to the leadership of the National Assembly to express their objection to any attempts to declare vacant the seat of any member of the Upper House who defects to another political party. In the letter, dated January 20, the Senators warned that such vacancies should be declared only through a process of recall by the relevant constituents or by the pronouncement of a court of competent and final jurisdiction, rather than what they called ‘politics of intimidation, harassment and or comment that could jeopardize the peaceful co-existence of unity of Nigeria.’ The Senators, citing the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has resulted in some Senators planning to defect to other political parties, stressed the need to forestall imminent crisis in the polity.  Urging the Senate to continue to accommodate all legislators irrespective of their views, they said Niger...

Pop star Justin Bieber was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and drag racing Thursday morning, Miami Beach police Detective Vivian Hernandez said. Further details about the arrest weren't immediately available. Bieber, 19, flew to Miami on Monday. ieber's rough times This is the first time the teen singer has been arrested, although he is under investigation for allegedly egging his California neighbor's home. Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies used a felony search warrant to raid Bieber's mansion in the felony vandalism investigation on January 9. Bieber is having some issues Deputies have also investigated reports by his neighbors that he raced his expensive sports car down the streets of the exclusive Oaks community of Calabasas, California, but no charges ever resulted.

 "Thor" star Chris Hemsworth joined Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on Thursday to announce the  nominees for the 2014 Academy Awards . The Academy Awards will air live on ABC on March 2, starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. For complete coverage on the awards season, click here . CNN Oscar ballot: Make your choices, share your picks Best picture   "12 Years a Slave"  "The Wolf of Wall Street"  "Captain Phillips"  "Her"  "American Hustle"  "Gravity"  "Dallas Buyers Club"  "Nebraska"  "Philomena" Best director   Steve McQueen -- "12 Years a Slave"  David O. Russell -- "American Hustle"  Alfonso Cuaron -- "Gravity"  Alexander Payne -- "Nebraska"  Martin Scorsese -- "The Wolf of Wall Street" Best actor   Bruce Dern -- "Nebraska"  Chiwetel Ejiofor -- "12 Years a Slav...

Lagos State University students went on the rampage Thursday, disrupting the university’s  second semester examination and destroying properties in the process. The protest which started Wednesday over the closure of the university’s registration portal, led to stoning of the University Vice Chancellor Prof. John Obafunwa, as he tried to evade the riotous students who had blocked the main gate and made bonfires on the Lagos-Badagry expressway. An eye witness told P.M.NEWS Thursday that students threw sticks and stones at the Vice Chancellor’s convoy as he made to escape through an alternative route beside Conoil Filling station. Trouble started in the university when the VC decided not to open the registration portal for over 2,000 students who are yet to register their second semester courses as exams was to begin Thursday, even though the banks are still collecting school fees from students, whose hope of registering gets slimmer by the day. According to the students, ...

After an interaction with some of them, it was gathered that, rather than engaging in demeaning jobs like prostitution, these ladies, who are graduates of different tertiary institutions, said they applied as traffic controllers and flag girls on the expressway with the firm handling the reconstruction work. According to Vanguard, the girls, up to 10 in number, graduated from different tertiary institutions. They spend up to 11 hours on the road every day, with an hour break, while they are paid per hour. The flag-girls earn between N30,000 and N40,000 monthly. It was a herculean task getting to talk with the ladies for two reasons. One, they will not want to lose precious work-time, and they will not want to incur the wrath of their employers by speaking to the press. However, it has been learnt that the ladies, without exception, were there for mere survival. Their salaries are calculated hourly and public holidays are deducted from their pay. One of them, a National Dip...

Some lawyers under the aegis of Concerned Lawyers of Port Harcourt branch of the Nigerian Bar Association are staging protest at the premises of the Judiciary complex in Port Harcourt. The lawyers are agitating for the appointment of a Chief Judge in the state. Coordinator of the Lawyers, Barrister Chris Itamunuola called on the Rivers State government to follow the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, NJC by swearing in Justice Daizy Okocha as the Chief Judge of the state.   He also called on the state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Worgu Boms to make the right call and give what they described as the constitutional advice to Governor Amaechi. On his part, the Secretary of the state branch of the NBA, Kingsley Chuku alleged that the NBA had been compromised. Chuku called on the protesting lawyers to disregard comments made by the Chairman of the NBA, Oko Jaja, who said the NBA was not a trade union and therefore dissociated the union fro...

About 588 students have been expelled from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology over poor academic performance. This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Barineme Fakae during the institution’s 32nd matriculation in Port Harcourt. Fakae explained that the students, who could not get the required grade in their class work, were advised to leave RSUST at the end of the 2012/2013 academic session. Addressing the new students, Fakae warned that the university had zero tolerance for examination malpractices and other social vices. He said, “Inculcate the habit of using the library and ensure that you attend lectures at all times, as absenteeism may result in failure and consequently lead to withdrawal from the institution. “We (RSUST) do not compromise standards because our vision and values must continue to be held in high esteem.” He congratulated the new intakes on their success in the JAMB and post-UTME while aslo ch...

Jen Selter took the social media world by storm only recently with pictures showing off her well toned behind and it's already paying her. The Instagram fitness star who has amassed nearly 2 million followers with photos of her shapely rear, has signed a lucrative sports management deal and is being dubbed “the next Jillian Michaels.” Selter signed with The Legacy Agency, which represents baseball stars Carl Crawford and ­Johan Santana, NFL players Osi Umenyiora and Reggie Bush, and sports broadcasters Troy Aikman and Dan Hicks. “We believe she can be the next Jillian Michaels,” said TLA agent Andrew Witlieb, even though Selter, 20, has no formal fitness training, compared to experienced trainer Michaels, 39, who’s a judge on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.” “Jillian didn’t get to where she is until her mid-30s. Jen’s going to grow as a person, as a fitness expert, in these next years. She’s here for the long term,” Witlieb added. See more photos of her money maker;   ...

Water is the main component of human body. In fact, the human body is composed of 55% to 78% of water depending on body size. Adequate and regular water consumption has a lot of health benefits as it has no calories, no fat, no carbohydrates, no sugar. The amount of water you consume everyday plays an extremely important role in maintaining a healthy body. Here are 10 amazing things water does for you; Solves Bad Breath:  Bad breath is a clear sign that your body needs more water. Your saliva helps your teeth free from bacteria and keeps our tongue hydrated. So, whenever you suffer from bad breath, the first thing that you need to do is drink plenty of water. Also you can use water to rinse your mouth properly to get rid of food particles and bacteria that may be stuck in between your teeth and gum line. Weight Loss:  Water helps you to lose weight in a fast and better manner. Water helps to flush out the by-products of fat. Also when you drink water, your stomach bec...

It took the unfortunate passing of music industry great  Chris Lighty  to get  Fat Joe  and  50 Cent  on the same stage. After years of diss records and disparaging comments in interviews, the two New York heavyweights came together to honor their former manager at the 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards. Now the two have taken their truce a step further by actually recording a song together for  DJ Kay Slay’s  upcoming project, “Rhyme Or Die.”  For the cut “Free Again” producer StreetRunner repurposes the same “Freeway Song” sample that Philly’s Freeway used for his song named–you guessed it–”Free.”