Video: Real disaster

Merecedes unveils new Maybach super car (photos)

Mercedes Benz has unveiled its new super-car, The Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, and it's a dream. "It’s 18.5-feet long (six meters), can achieve 750 horsepower, hit 60 mph in under four seconds and it’s electric" said Gorden Wagener, head of design at Mercedes’ parent company Daimler AG, during the launch event in Carmel, California.

It has an enormous grille on the front, 24-inch rims, a split rear window and distinctive Gullwing doors (which open upwards). If the strongest charger is used the vehicle can reportedly power up to a range of 62 miles in just five minutes. Inside is a giant touch screen and the upholstered surfaces contain miniature “body sensor displays” that scan the passengers and track their vital functions etc.

The padded leather seats have massage functions and sensors embedded in the upholstery also record internal light, the color of the occupants’ clothing and the ambient temperature. “This information can be used to trigger new, emotional lighting effects in the interior,” says the maker.

Photos: Mrs Iara Oshiomhole pays a welfare visit to IDP community in Edo State

Wife of Edo State Governor Mrs Iara Oshiomhole today August 19, paid a welfare visit the Internally Displaced Persons community, Uhogua. Speaking during the visit, Mrs Oshiomhole expressed her delight and said there is nothing more fulfilling than putting smiles on the faces of the needy. She acknowledged the fact that they're doing well by improving their lives with the little opportunity given to them through the Project Focus skill acquisition program. The First Lady and her entourage, which includes the first son of the Governor, Emmanuel Adams Oshiomhole (Jr), also took a tour round the camp to observe the developments round the fish pond, snail farm, tailoring section and computer facilities provided during the ProjectFocus IDP training.

Lagos ranks world’s 3rd worst city to live in

A report released yesterday by The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Lagos as the third worst city to live, maintaining its position at the lowest rungs of the Global Liveability index. Several other global reports had also said that Lagos, with a population of over 22 million, would in the next few years, become the 4th mega city in the world, with a population of over 30 million. The city placed 138th out of the 140 cities ranked in the latest liveability survey, just above war-ravaged Tripoli and Damascus. “Of the poorer-scoring cities, 13 continue to occupy the very bottom tier of liveability, where ratings fall below 50 percent and most aspects of living are severely restricted. “Continued threats from groups like Boko Haram acts as a constraint to improving stability in Lagos,’’ the report stated. Escalations in hostilities in Libya prompted a sharp decline in liveability in Tripoli, according to the report, while Damascus, although seeing a stabilisation in its decline, remained rooted to the bottom. The top five best countries to live in, according to the report, remain unchanged from last year and they include Melbourne, Australian; Vienna, Austria; Vancouver, Canada; Toronto, Canada; and Calgary, Canada. The liveability survey assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions across five broad categories, including stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Lagos scored highest in culture and environment, followed by infrastructure. It scored lowest in stability. Three other African cities joined Lagos at the bottom rung of the liveable cities, including Douala, Cameroon; Harare, Zimbabwe; and Algiers, Algeria; ranking 132nd, 133rd, and 134th respectively. While no African city made it to the top 10 most liveable cities, five were in the 10 least liveable cities. Steve Ayorinde, Lagos State Commissioner for Information, could not be reached for comments last night as phone calls and text messages to his mobile number yielded no response.. Source: Vanguard

Naira sinks to all-time low of 365.25/dollar

The naira traded at an all-time low of 365.25 to the dollar on Thursday in a single interbank market trade of $1m, Thomson Reuters data showed. Interbank trading started two hours after the market opened and offered the currency sharply lower against the dollar. A total of $13m had been traded by 1235 GMT. The naira plunged to a record low and forwards rose, suggesting traders expect further depreciation, as the economy struggles amid a dearth of dollars. Three-month non-deliverable forward contracts climbed by 4.1 per cent to 364.5 against the greenback, Bloomberg reported. Contracts maturing in a year rose by 3.5 per cent to 403, also a record. The local currency has slumped by 38 per cent since the Central Bank of Nigeria ended a 16-month peg of 197-199 per dollar on June 20. The capital controls needed to defend the fix sent foreign investors fleeing and took the economy to the brink of recession. The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 1.8 per cent contraction of the economy this year. “There’s still a lot of demand for dollars,” Craig Thompson of Nyon, Switzerland-based brokerage Continental Capital Partners SA, said in a telephone interview. “The central bank has been supplying them. They sold some at 309 on Wednesday to keep the rate down. They’ve been selling dollars most days to keep it going above 320 and have done their best to try and keep it closing around 310. Managing the exchange rate is difficult because there’s pent-up demand,” he added. Local banks are unable to meet much of the demand for dollars, forcing their customers to the black market. The naira trades at 394 per dollar at the parallel market, around 11 per cent weaker than the official rate. “There is no liquidity” in the interbank foreign-exchange market, an analyst at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Kunle Ezun, said. He said the CBN sold dollars on August 15 and 16 and would continue intervening. “They won’t want to see this jump,” Ezun said. “They will come in, maybe tomorrow, to bring it down to 320 or 330.” Source:PUNCH.

Photo: Talented young boy knits cap at Dalori IDP camp, Borno State

Young Babagana is pictured in one of the tents used for school classes knitting a cap at the Dalori camp for internally displaced persons near Maiduguri. He arrived the Dalori camp late last year and attends the UNICEF supported school in the camp. According to UNICEF, Babagana has a fairly straight forward routine; attend school in the morning, play football after school and do some productive work too like homework and knitting a cap.

Meet The 21 Year Old Nigerian Car Maker

If we say the beautiful ones are yet unborn then what do we say about the gifted ones, being conceived? I’ve seen amazing almost real sketches with pencils and pens, but a car built out of scarp metals and condemned motor parts? Now that’s inspirational. Its okay to assume he probably took on the awesome idea to support his family, gain financial freedom or make a name for himself. The 21 year old Nigerian Student in his final year in secondary school from Kebbi said he built his first car to help him go to school. Now how cool can that be? During my childhood days, you became the school’s most popular kid if you had the latest gadgets or rocked the most expensive shoes and by that i mean ”Cultina’s” from Bata and Leventist shops back in the early 90’s.

I’m wondering how Muzzamil Umar felt when he first drove his self made car into the school premises? What would have gone through the minds of his class mates and teachers? And his parents?

I’m hoping this post inspires us to look within and change the world we live in now. In Michael Jackson’s words “if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change – Man in the mirror.

VIDEO: First African Act to be decorated in 200 Years

Ancient!

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