Saturday, 11 March 2017
Thursday, 9 March 2017
Osinbajo in Sokoto, urges promotion of SMEs
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal (left), his Kebbi State counterpart, Atiku Bagudu, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Zamfara State Governor Abdulazeez Yari and Acting Managing Director Bank of Industry, (BoI), Waheed Olagunju at the opening of the nationwide Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Clinic in Sokoto…yesterday.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said the promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is the way to stabilise the economy.Osinbajo, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said at the opening of a two-day nationwide MSMEs Clinic in Sokoto yesterday that stakeholders in the public and private sectors should partner the small and medium business owners. This, he said, would ensure that those making local products got to the formal market.
The acting president thus challenged small and medium business owners to partner with government agencies like the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) by registering their businesses so as to get their products to the formal market. This country will soon pull out of recession.
He said: “We have resources of every kind: gypsum, potassium and others. There is no reason this country should not be the wealthiest in the world.
According to Osinbajo, “The development of agriculture and agro-allied value chains are key in this direction. Sokoto State is in the forefront of agricultural revolution to bring back Nigeria on the path of sustainable development.”
Osinbajo later paid a courtesy call on the Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar III, who congratulated him on attaining the age of 60. He welcome him to “the club of the old people.”
The monarch urged the Federal Government to relax its ban on importation of rice and vehicles through land borders.Abubakar said Nigerians are already going through difficult times and policies should not be taken to further aggravate the suffering of Nigerians.
The Sultan stressed that some of the policies were “still ill-timed”, pledging to provide sustained support, prayers and wise counsel to the government.
He promised: “we will always work for the peace, unity, stability and the even socioeconomic development of Nigeria. We are also assuring the government of our sustained total support, loyalty and commitment.”
The acting president, had before departing for Sokoto earlier stopped over at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Base, Kaduna, where he received Prime Minister of Guinea Bissau, General Umoru Sissco Embalo to discuss how to end political crisis in that country.
The Prime Minister had explained he came to Nigeria to seek advice over the political gridlock in his country.According to Embalo, “You know that our relationship with Nigeria is not today. It was during our struggle and liberation. Nigeria is always supporting us and that is why I am here to explain to the acting president about the political situation in Guinea Bissau. And Nigeria leading the group, I am happy.”
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2m6jUbP
Sunday, 26 February 2017
‘Moonlight’ wins best picture Oscar
“Moonlight,” a poignant coming-of-age story set in the tough projects of southern Florida, on Sunday won the best picture Oscar — but not before the prize was first given in error to musical “La La Land.”
The mistake — only corrected after the producers of “La La Land” had come on stage to accept the award — was a stunning end to the film industry’s biggest night.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2m0H5YO
Friday, 24 February 2017
Clooney blasts Trump as Huppert’s ‘Elle’ wins at ‘French Oscars’
(LtoR) French Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay, US actor George Clooney and British-Lebanese lawyer Amal Clooney attend the 42nd edition of the Cesar Ceremony at the Salle Pleyel in Paris on February 24, 2017.<br />bertrand GUAY / AFP
Isabelle Huppert and her hit thriller “Elle” were the big winners late Friday at the “French Oscars” — the Cesars — in a highly political ceremony marked by Hollywood star George Clooney warning that freedom had to be defended in the face of Donald Trump’s US presidency.
“Courage trumps fear. Right always trumps might,” the American actor said before quoting war reporter Edward F Morrow’s famous condemnation of the McCarthyite Communist witch-hunts of the 1950s.
“Let’s not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must not walk in fear of one another, we must not be driven by fear into an age of unreason,” he said.
Watched by his wife, the human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney, who is pregnant with twins, the actor said, “We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
“We have to work harder not to let hate win,” insisted Clooney, who was a supporter of Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, as he received an honorary Cesar.
“Elle”, a subversive thriller about a woman who not only takes revenge on her rapist but holds him in her power, won best film and Huppert, 63, the best actress award.
Her mesmerising performance in such a slippery and morally complex story has won her some of the best reviews of her career, and made her one of the favourites for the best actress Oscar on Sunday.
Another French Oscar contender, “My Life as a Zucchini” (“Ma Vie de Courgette”), won best animated film.
– Troubled estates –
With France’s troubled suburban estates again rising up in protest after two high-profile police brutality cases, “Divines”, a stirring story of the friendship between two young girls from immigrant families, also triumphed.
Deborah Lukumuena won best actor in a supporting role while co-star Oulaya Amamra wept as she dedicated her best newcomer award to her late father.
Her sister, director Houda Benyamina, took the prize for best first film, after winning the equivalent prize at Cannes.
The highly-political winner of that festival’s Palme d’Or top prize, “I, Daniel Blake”, also got the Cesar for best foreign film.
Its veteran British director Ken Loach used the occasion to again accuse his country’s Conservative government of “deliberate brutality” towards the poor.
The moving drama tells of a carpenter’s Kafkaesque struggle to get benefits after suffering a heart attack and being told by doctors he can no longer work.
Loach also appealed to French voters to reject the far-right National Front, whose leader Marine Le Pen is leading in the polls for France’s presidential election in May.
“The extreme right always succeeds when people feel desperate,” said the 80-year-old leftwinger.
“It is up to the French to make the choice. But we, your friends, hope that you will reject the bitterness of the right,” he added.
The young director of the best documentary prize, Francois Ruffin, used his speech to excoriate French politicians for allowing manufacturing jobs to be delocalised to low-wage countries.
His fiercely comic film “Merci Patron!” (“Thanks Boss”) skewered France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, the owner of the LVMH luxury goods empire, and was one of year’s surprise hits.
The night’s other big winner was Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan’s hot-tempered family drama “It’s Only the End of the World”, which featured an A-list cast of French stars.
It won the 27-year-old best director, best editing and its star Gaspard Ulliel best actor.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lFkm3L
Monday, 6 February 2017
Want to avoid miscarriage? Enjoy avocado, nuts, spinach
*Skipping breakfast associated with obesity, heart disease
Eating nuts, kale and avocado could help protect women from suffering a miscarriage, new research suggests. Being deficient in vitamin E starves an embryo of vital energy and nutrients it needs to grow, scientists have found.
This can cause severe neurological damage – ultimately leading to the loss of a pregnancy. Experts now claim women planning to become pregnant should consume foods high in the mineral or take supplements.
Researchers from Oregon State University conducted their study on zebrafish embryos – which have a similar neurological development to humans. They found that a severe deficiency caused the depletion of essential fatty acids, specifically the omega-3 DHA.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is essential for the growth and functional development of the brain in infants.
When the growing embryo is diminished of these, cells start to use glucose to prevent and reduce damage in the womb. However, this prevents glucose from being used for its main purpose – providing humans with energy. This then prevents many physical and neurological features – especially the brain – from forming correctly.
Ultimately, this can lead to the loss of a pregnancy, the researchers warned in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
They discovered that in zebrafish, a severe vitamin E deficiency is responsible for 80 per cent of miscarriages.
Despite also being found in sweet potatoes, avocados and sunflower seeds, US researchers previously noted that 96 per cent of women consume inadequate amounts of the vitamin. And given these statistics, experts warn women should take supplements to ensure they have sufficient amounts if they desire children.
Meanwhile, skipping breakfast raises the risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes, a major review has concluded.
Heart experts in the United States (U.S.) issued new advice stressing the importance of a morning meal. And they warned up to a third of adults skip breakfast and then snack and graze throughout the day – a pattern which could play havoc with their health.
The new guidance, issued by the American Heart Association, was backed by British experts, who said similar trends are all too common in this country.
Victoria Taylor, a dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: “In the United Kingdom (U.K.) our lifestyles have become more demanding and as a result our meal patterns have become more varied and irregular.
“Compared with 30 years ago, more meals are skipped or eaten on the go, and later in the day. This study shows that it’s not only what we eat but also when we eat it that affects our risk of heart disease.”
The review, led by experts at Columbia University in New York, US, concluded people who eat a regular healthy breakfast are less likely to pile on calories later in the day.
This means their body has more time to burn off energy before they go to sleep.
People should also try to restrict their eating to main meals and not snack between them, the experts said, warning people of the danger of ‘emotional’ eating.
They should aim to consume between 15 and 25 per cent of their daily energy intake at breakfast time, between 300 and 500 calories for a woman and between 375 and 625 for a man.
The scientists did not define exactly what people should eat, but said a healthy breakfast should be high in nutrients such as fibre, calcium, potassium and vitamin D.
Professor Marie-Pierre St-Onge of Columbia University, who led the review panel, said: “Meal timing may affect health due to its impact on the body’s internal clock.
“We suggest eating mindfully, by paying attention to planning both what you eat and when you eat meals and snacks, to combat emotional eating.
“Many people find that emotions can trigger eating episodes when they are not hungry, which often leads to eating too many calories from foods that have low nutritional value.”
Her team cited previous studies, which have shown people who usually skip breakfast have a 27 per cent increased risk of suffering a heart attack, and are 18 per cent more likely to have a stroke.
Other studies found people who ate breakfast every day were less likely to have high cholesterol and blood pressure, and people who skip breakfast are more likely to be obese be diagnosed with diabetes.
Growing evidence suggests the demise of the family meal eaten at a dinner table, and the boom in sandwich chains and fast food restaurants, means we are increasingly snacking on the go.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2jWIJWh
United Capital’s Wealth for Women Fund offers high-tield investment opportunities for financial empowerment
Oluwatoyin Sanni, Group CEO, United Capital Plc and Alex Osunde, Managing Director, Sewa Capital (Lead Issuing House)at the signing ceremony in Lagos for United Capital's two new mutual funds: the United Capital Nigerian Eurobond Fund and the United Capital Wealth for Women Fund
As the number of working women who earn a steady income increases, there has been a steady rise in the demand for financial advice and investible products suited particularly to the needs of women. Conversely, with more women in managerial and entrepreneurial roles in small and large organisations across the nation, the opportunities for investing in female-led companies have never been so plentiful.
Recognising these realities, one of Nigeria’s leading investment banks, United Capital, has launched an investment vehicle that enables women to invest profitably in Nigeria’s capital markets, particularly in companies run by women.
The investment firm, through its new ‘Wealth for Women Mutual Fund’, will invest in publicly quoted companies who have women as the majority in their board and senior management.
In doing this, United Capital’s Wealth for Women Fund is meeting the pressing need of investing in, and showing support for African women. Some goals it aims to achieve are: enhancing the financial security of women; encouraging women to imbibe a progressive savings culture; increasing women’s participation in Nigeria’s capital markets; and creating a sustainable foundation for women’s financial empowerment and development in Nigeria.
For women (and men) choosing to invest in this fund, there are a number of benefits that they can enjoy, such as tax-exempt dividend payments, professional expertise from United Capital’s fund managers, and flexibility in terms of an easy entry and exit plan, such that they can invest and withdraw as they please. Additionally, they can enjoy redemptions within five days.
Financial service providers in other climes have caught wind of this trend and are offering a fully developed niche of woman-centric financial services that offer special advantages for women. These services empower them by giving them an opportunity to transform their savings into strong financial assets that will see them diversify their income and build lasting wealth. United Capital, with the launching of this fund, has demonstrated its interest and commitment to women by pioneering this niche in the Nigerian capital market.
This article is brought to you by United Capital, and written by Guardian Brand Studio. To learn more about United Capital Asset Management’s Mutual Funds, visit http://ift.tt/2kHr1uw
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kHpkNM
Sunday, 29 January 2017
‘I Don’t Feel at Home’ wins top prize at Sundance
PARK CITY, UT – JANUARY 22: Elijah Wood, Metta-Marie Kongsved, Macon Blair and Christine Woods attends the Netflix Celebrates The Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2017 in Park City, Utah. Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Netflix/AFP<br />Gustavo Caballero / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
“I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore,” a movie long on ambition and longer in title, came away with the top prize as the Sundance Film Festival wrapped Saturday.
Starring Elijah Wood, it was announced at its world premiere in the Utah mountains last week as the only festival entrant with a grammatical sentence as its title.
“Green Room” actor Macon Blair’s directorial debut is a bloody crime comedy with an escalating body count in the best traditions of Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, the Coen brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson.
The Netflix financed movie co-stars Melanie Lynskey (“Heavenly Creatures”) as a nursing assistant worn down by people’s unkindness who eventually snaps when her house is burglarized.
It won the grand jury prize in Sundance’s “US dramatic competition” section.
Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini’s “Dina,” described by critics as a “non-fiction rom-com” won best US documentary.
The film follows an eccentric suburban woman and a Walmart door-greeter as they navigate their evolving relationship in an unconventional love story.
Many critics have pointed out that this year’s festival was more overtly political than in previous years.
Fittingly, Sundance’s awards show opened with a sideways dig at President Donald Trump’s order suspending the arrival of refugees and tough new controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Sundance Institute head Keri Putnam told the audience she wanted to “acknowledge the artists from Muslim majority countries who joined us at the festival this year.”
The US dramatic audience award — the second prize to the grand jury award — went to Matt Ruskin’s “Crown Heights,” the story of a man fighting to clear his name after being wrongly convicted of a crime.
The US documentary directing prize went to Peter Nicks for “The Force” — a portrait of the Oakland police department — while the US documentary audience award went to “Chasing Coral,” which sounds the alarm on the decline of coral reefs.
Tarik Saleh’s Swedish thriller “The Nile Hilton Incident” came away with the grand jury prize for world drama while Feras Fayyad’s “Last Men in Aleppo,” about the Syrian conflict, won the world cinema documentary competition.
The Sundance Film Festival founded by actor Robert Redford is considered a showcase for independent and documentary films and festival winners often go on to receive critical acclaim and Hollywood awards season glory.
Last year, the crop of movies shown at the festival yielded “Manchester by the Sea,” which is up for six Oscars next month, including best picture and best actor for its star Casey Affleck.
“This has been one of the wildest, wackiest and most rewarding festivals in recent memory,” said Sundance director John Cooper.
“From a new government to the independently organized Women’s March on Main, to power outages, a cyberattack and snow at record levels, the work of our artists rose above it all and challenged and changed us these last 10 days.”
Here is a full list of prizewinners from Saturday’s awards:
– US DRAMA –
Grand Jury Prize: “I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore.”
Audience Award: “Crown Heights”
Directing: Eliza Hittman, “Beach Rats”
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Matt Spicer and David Branson Smith, “Ingrid Goes West”
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance: Chante Adams, “Roxanne Roxanne”
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Director: Maggie Betts, “Novitiate”
Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Daniel Landin, “Yellow Birds”
– US DOCUMENTARY-
Grand Jury Prize: “Dina”
Directing: Peter Nicks, “The Force”
Orwell Award: “Icarus”
Audience Award: “Chasing Coral”
Special Jury Award for Editing: Kim Roberts and Emiliano Battista, “Unrest”
Special Jury Award for Editing: Kim Roberts and Emiliano Battista, “Unrest”
Special Jury Award for Storytelling: Yance Ford, “Strong Island”
Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking: Amanda Lipitz, “Step”
– WORLD CINEMA DRAMA –
Grand Jury Prize: “The Nile Hilton Incident”
Audience Award: “I Dream in Another Language”
Directing Award: Francis Lee, “God’s Own Country”
Screenwriting: Kirsten Tan, “Pop Aye”
Special Jury Award for Cinematic Visions: Jun Geng, “Free and Easy”
Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Manu Dacosse, “Axolotl Overkill”
– WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY –
Grand Jury Prize: “Last Men in Aleppo”
Audience Award: “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower”
Directing Award: Pascale Lamche, “Winnie”
Special Jury Award for Masterful Storytelling: Catherine Bainbridge, Alfonso Maiorana, “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World”
Special Jury Award for Editing: Ramona S. Diaz, “Motherland”
Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Rodrigo Trejo Villanueva, “Machines”
Vía The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2jIfl9u
