"Psy Style" scores as Gangnam rapper readies new song

As South Korean rapper Psy readies what he hopes will be his next hit song, aiming for a repeat of the viral "Gangnam Style", retailers are keeping a close eye on what he wears, hoping another blockbuster will send sales surging.

From the tortoiseshell sunglasses to the two-toned Oxfords the chubby singer sported for his YouTube megahit, a wide range of brands - and Seoul's Gangnam district itself - have reaped rich rewards from the Psy effect.

Psy's stylist will say only that the 35-year-old will once more be clad in a suit for the new song, whose title also remains a secret. It will be released at an April 13 concert.

"The basic concept for his upcoming song is again a formal suit but with a humorous twist. I plan to add an unexpected twist of fun," Hong Hye-won told Reuters in an interview.

"I made a point with a bow tie back in the Gangnam look. There is something like that for the new song."

Psy's slicked hair and tuxedo jacket, in a broad range of electric colors, paired with a pleated white dress shirt and a black bow tie, run counter to the carefully manicured and primped young women and men typical of the K-Pop industry.

Much of what Psy wears is from his personal closet, since it is hard for him to find a suit that fits, Hong was quoted in a local newspaper as saying last year.

Both the Vivienne Westwood white shirt and the Thierry Lasry sunglasses he sports in the video, which made YouTube history by being the first to gain more than 1 billion views, are items he bought for himself some time ago, she was quoted as saying.

French eyewear designer Thierry Lasry has been besieged with questions about the two kinds of shades - the tortoiseshell, and black with gold temples, both called "The Variety".

"We have had a lot of requests from our customers who saw and loved his music video," said Clara Mercier, marketing manager for Thierry Lasry, who said the tortoiseshell version was a limited edition. The black ones go for 335 euros ($430).

"We obviously could have sold thousands had it not been a limited edition," Mercier added.

NOT SO TALL, NOT SO HANDSOME

Gabor, a German-based shoe maker, has also benefited. Psy's footwear was actually Christian Louboutin, but similar enough to one of Gabor's styles to send Korean sales shooting up 100 percent in September 2012 from a year before.

"Before Psy, Oxfords were not exactly popular," said Lee Hyung-joo, Gabor marketing manager. "But now everyone, man or woman, old or young, fashionable or not, wants to try the Oxfords Psy wears."

Psy's broad appeal appears to be the key. The YouTube video has now been viewed more than 1.4 billion times.

"He is not a typical model type of person - quite chubby, not so tall and not so handsome. But it does not matter," said shoe designer Jimmy Choo, in Seoul for a recent awards ceremony. "We feel he is like us, like the guy next door."

Gangnam, the upmarket Seoul suburb that has become a byword for affluence and consumption if not always good taste, has also seen a spillover effect that has kept its streets crowded - and the cash tills of its high-end stores ringing.

Tourist numbers have shot up 50 percent to 320,000 in January this year, compared with the same period in 2012, according to government data. Chinese tourists stand out although locals also spend more time in the area, especially Garosil-gil, the trendiest part.

"We think that Psy has brought 'Gangnam' closer to ordinary people, who were often uncomfortable with its luxurious, well-to-do image," said Jeong You-sook, an official at the Tourism Promotion Division of the Gangnam District office.

Choo agreed that Psy's appeal was infectious.

"Everyone, including myself, wants to try not just his dance moves but his fashion and his hairdo. Just like everyone was going as Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson in their heydays," he said.

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Policeman Shoots Student Over Stolen Phone

There was palpable tension at Ijegwu community in Obi local government area of Benue State following the alleged shooting of a student by a police officer, weekend, after a heated argument.

Vanguard gathered from an eyewitness that the victim, Augustine Ajom, a student, allegedly engaged the police officer, who was armed with an AK 47 rifle, in a heated argument over a missing phone when the policeman allegedly shot him.

According to our source at Obarike-Ito, headquarters of Obi local government area, the police officer was part of a team dispatched to Oju on a special assignment from the Otukpo Area Command when the unfortunate incident occurred.

Vanguard gathered that the shooting of the student elicited angry reaction from members of Ijegwu community who went haywire and manhandled one of the policemen.

The angry villagers allegedly went further to set ablaze the Volkswagen Golf car which was used for the special mission by the policemen.

Meanwhile, victims of the mob attack and the shot student are said to be receiving treatment at the Obarike-Ito General Hospital after being transferred from a clinic at Itakpa.

Reacting to the incident, Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, Daniel Ezeala denied that the police shot anybody in the fracas.

According to him, "a mob in the said village attacked the police men on patrol duties, for an unjustifiable reasons; they also went a step further to set ablaze their car after thoroughly manhandling one of the police men. There is no truth in their claim that our men shot a student of the community before the attack; it is absolutely false".

In his reaction after visiting the scene of the crisis, Chairman of Obi local government council, Mr Odeh Michael appealed to the people of Ijegwu, Opirikwu and Okpokwu to remain calm and allow the law take its full course in the matter.

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LASU killings: 34 Arrested Students Face Extra Year

No fewer than 34 students of the Lagos State University have missed the first semester examinations which began on Monday. The students are currently in police detention following the killings of two students of the institution. The implication of this is that the students will automatically carry over all their courses.

The development could also lead to some of them having extra year because some of the courses must be passed before advanced level of the courses could be studied. Over 70 students were arrested in connection with the killings of two students of the school, Hip Hop artiste, Damilola Olaniyan aka Damino Damoche and Kabiru Atoyebi.

It was learnt that after the suspects were screened at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja, about 36 students were released while others remained in custody. The Students Union Government of the institution had appealed to the school authorities to ensure the suspected students were allowed to participate in the examination, while their interrogation continued. According to a source in the school, who pleaded anonymity, the SUG feels that the students do not deserve to be treated like criminals since they have not been found guilty.

He said, "The students were indiscriminately arrested in their hostels by policemen and abandoned in the cell since March 3, 2013." But the SUG's Public Relations Officer, Adeleke Stephen, said, "This is a clear example of the effect of cultism. I see no reason why students should not face their education. For the good of all, I advise all students on campus to avoid engaging in cultism and all acts that may lead to disorderliness."

All efforts to speak with the spokesperson for the institution, Sola Fosudo, proved abortive as all calls made to his telephone rang out. The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. John Obafunwa, when contacted, directed our correspondent to his deputy. However, a senior official of the school, who craved anonymity, said it was not LASU's fault that the students missed sitting for the examination. He added that the school would not make any concession for them.

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GrandMother arrested For Possession oF cocaine!

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, yesterday arrested a 53-year- old grandmother with 1.00 kilogramme of cocaine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe InternationalAirport, NAIA, Abuja.

The suspect, Mrs. Giwa Ayoka Sikirat, who concealed the drug in her hair while trying to board an Ethiopian airline Flight ET 910 to Pakistan enroute Addis Ababa and Dubai, was apprehended during the screening of passengers at the airport.

Speaking on the arrest, NDLEA Abuja Airport Commander, Mr Hamisu Lawan, said the suspect was arrested for attempting to smuggle the drug to Pakistanduring a routine check at the airport.

�There was no prior information on Sikirat as the drug was detected when a female officer carried out a body frisk on her during outward screening of passengers. She was smuggling the drug to Pakistan. We also arrested one 59-year-old suspected accomplice, Joseph Umunna, an indigene of AnambraState, who brought Sikirat to the airport.�

�Preliminary investigation shows that Joseph Umunna was assigned to take her to the airport and ensure that she successfully board her flight.

The drug was concealed in her hair in Lagos before she was taken to Abuja. Bothsuspects will soon be charged to court in line with the NDLEA Act for unlawful exportation and conspiracy to export 1kg ofcocaine�

Chairman of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade while condemning the arrest said that it was morally bankrupt for a 53-year-old motherto smuggle drugs, saying �I commend ourofficers for detecting the drug hidden in the suspect�s hair.

It is sad for a 53-year-old mother to smuggle drugs. This shows that she is morally bankrupt and lacks the courage to inculcate discipline in her children.�

Source: Vanguard

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SAD: Father, son electrocuted in Abeokuta

Tragedy struck, on Sunday, when a police officer, Sunday Joseph and his 17-year-oldadopted son, Moses were electrocuted at a construction site in front of the governor�s house at Oke-Igbein, Abeokuta, the state capital.

An eyewitness told Us that the boy who lived in the Police Barracks at Oke-Igbein, was an orphan who lost  his father in a robbery attack .

The source explained that Moses had gone to theconstruction site to scavenge for iron rods fromthe rubble and died on his way back home when the rods he gathered suddenly touched a high tension cable which shocked him to death.

WE further gathered that in a bid to rescue him, Joseph, who was reported to have been taking care of him since the death of his father lost his life too.

He was reported to have been called by one of the witnesses at the scene of the incident. According to the witness, he was shocked when he saw the boy�s body on the ground and made for the lifeless body which was still in contact with the life wire.

According to the finding, Joseph reportedly rushed to rescue of the boy and got entrapped as he touched the boy�s body which led to his death too.

The eyewitness stated that Joseph arrived the scene in a Volkswagen Golf with number plate Lagos FB 359 APP and had been earlier prevented by his friends who had besieged the scene. He suddenly disengaged his hands and gottrapped in the high tension cable.

Attempt to rush him to the hospital failed as his car which was the only available car at the scenecouldn�t start due to the security mechanism fixed in it leading to his death few minutes later.

The remains of the two victims were said to have been  taken to the morgue at  the StateHospital in Ijaye, Abeokuta.

WE , however, gathered that the Secretaryto Ogun State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa  led some government officials to the house of the deceased where he reportedly promised government�s assistance to the family.

Also, a  government delegation headed by a Senior Special Assistant to Ogun State Governor,Patrick Akinduro visited the family on Monday tocondole with them. Akinduro assured of government�s readiness to assist the family members on the burial arrangement, adding thatthe government should be informed when they are ready for the burial.

When contacted, the Public Affairs Manager of PHCN in Abeokuta Districts, Richard Oyewole, said that investigation would be conducted on the matter.

He said: �I have contacted some of our field officers, and like you are aware, yesterday was Sunday and normally if the construction companies are to work on any area, they will request for outage. But as we speak, there was no outage permit granted by our company.

�We are still investigating and we are going to make announcement later on the issue. We don�t grant outages on frivolities, normally, our line supposed to be on 24 hours unless there is a fault or an accident and what we can do is to isolate that area to prevent life being lost because any outage will put a lot of people into darkness�.

Source: Vanguard

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KETU FIRE: Lagos State Govt Promises To Help Reconstruct Market

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has assured traders at the Ifelodun plank market, Ketu, of his administration's readiness to support them financially in rebuilding the market which was razed by fire last Thursday.

Fashola, who spoke during an inspection of the market on Sunday, said the incident was unfortunate, adding that his administration was poised to assuage the losses incurred by the traders.

Fashola said it was unfortunate that the traders did not have insurance because it was very important especially in the event of fire or other disasters.

He said, "You traders are part of your problems. You ought to have insurance. All your equipment that got burnt, including the woods, should be handled by insurance companies.

"What we must do if you want me to help is that we must make it compulsory for everybody to have insurance because there is no way people as many as this can work in a place and there won't be eventualities.

"So, insurance is for situations like this and I use this opportunity to tell traders not affected by the fire to also get insurance because it is not very expensive. That is how it is done worldwide and ours must not be different."

While responding to questions from journalists, Fashola said it was ridiculous that some people were spreading rumours that government had a hand in the inferno which caused the traders to lose goods and equipment worth millions of naira.

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SAD: Baby shot by robbers dies after seven months

After seven months of battling with complications from a gunshot wound on the head, Taiwo Lawal, the one-year-old baby who was shot during a series of robberies in Lagos on September 9, 2012, has died.

PUNCH Metro had reported that Taiwo was shot athis parents' home in Gbagada during the robberieswhich occurred simultaneously in various parts of the state, an incident now remembered as Black Sunday.

Following the injury and its publication in THE PUNCH, telecommunications firm, MTN Nigeria, donated N500,000 for the baby's treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba.

The story also drew public interest as concerned members of the public also donated undisclosed sums of money.

Sadly, Taiwo gave up the ghost on March 7, 2013 at Ward E of the hospital.

The deceased's distraught father, Wasiu, said the death was more painful because of the amount of money the family had spent.

He said, "We spent all that we had but unfortunately my son did not survive. After MTN donated N500,000 and few concerned members of the public gave us money, more expenses kept coming up. The money was not enough as we had to keep spending on drugs and other things.

"After the MTN donation, Taiwo was operated on and he showed signs of improvement at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. A couple of weeks later, after the bullet had been extracted, he was transferred to the main ward but in late December, his health started to deteriorate, he lost weight and we had to take turns to watch over him."

Wasiu said although doctors at the hospital initiallyassured him that Taiwo's brain was not affected by the bullet, he was later told that the bullet had affected the baby's brain.

Wasiu alleged that after sometime, the nurses at the hospital were no longer as caring as before and even advised him to take the baby home.

He said, "Initially we were told that Taiwo would require another surgery but later we were told that he was too young to have another surgery and that he should have the surgery in a few years' time. The hospital wanted to discharge him but I objected to it because he obviously was not alright.

"In late January, his health deteriorated and he could not breathe on his own and was placed on Oxygen. At that point, the doctor advised that we flew him abroad for treatment as it was now beyond their capability. However, last week he showed signs of improvement and was even eating.

"We were already happy but unfortunately on Thursday afternoon, Taiwo passed on, leaving behind his twin, Kehinde and two other siblings."

Calls made to the spokesperson for the hospital, Hope Nwokolo rang out. A text message to her telephone was not replied to.

Source: Punch

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