Tuesday 15 November 2011

Bomb Targets Police Vehicle in Northern Nigeria

Police in northeastern Nigeria say a bomb targeting a police vehicle exploded in the city of Maiduguri as a governor's motorcade approached from the airport.
The blast happened Monday after the governor of Borno state, Kasim Shettima, arrived from the capital, Abuja, where he won a legal challenge to his election.
No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, but members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram are suspected of throwing the device at a police vehicle.
The state police commissioner said there were no injuries from the explosion.
Boko Haram said it was behind a series of attacks earlier this month in northern Nigeria that killed more than 100 people.
It also claimed responsibility for an August 26 attack on the U.N. headquarters in Abuja that killed more than 20 people.
Boko Haram militants say they are fighting to establish a strict Islamic state in the north. The group does not recognize the oil-rich country's government or its constitution.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

5 Small Steps to Healthier Eating Habits


There’s a lot of talk these days about how the typical American diet needs updating. As it turns out, eating a lot of red meat, processed food, and sugary snacks isn’t so good for you. People today are being advised to eat fresh vegetables, a small amount of meat, and no white sugar.
Making these changes can be challenging, and too much change at once is a recipe for failure. So, how do you improve your diet, without biting off more than you can chew? The answer is to take small steps. Here are five ways to ease you into healthier eating habits.

  • Cook from scratch a couple of times a week
Food that is pre-packaged, or prepared for us in restaurants, has a much higher content of fat, sugar, and salt than anything we would cook at home. Give your body a break a couple of times a week by making a meal with fresh vegetables, whole grains, and fish or beans. Lightly salt your food and add simple seasonings like olive oil, yogurt, and lemon juice.

  • Switch out whole grains for pasta or bread
Although they taste delicious, pasta and white bread don’t have much nutritional content. Start experimenting with whole grains and see which you like best. Brown rice, quinoa, millet, and farro all have a high protein content and a distinct flavor. Try tossing tomato sauce with farro instead of pasta, or serving your soup with some fluffy quinoa instead of bread.

  • Eat a breakfast that includes protein
While the typical American breakfast of a muffin or a bagel and coffee gives your body a boost of sugar and caffeine, it won’t give you a lot of fuel to hold you over until lunch. Avoid a spike in your blood sugar levels in the morning, and instead try eating a hard-boiled egg with whole grain toast, canned sardines over brown rice, or plain yogurt with nuts, grains, and fruit.

  • Eat leafy greens a few times a week
Kale is a “superfood,” with an extraordinary amount of cancer-fighting antioxidants and a high content of beta-carotene and vitamin C. If you think you don’t like kale, try sautéing it with olive oil, garlic, and chili flakes. It’s delicious. Collard greens, Swiss chard, spinach, and beet greens are all pretty healthy, too, and can be cooked the same way. If you still need to eat birthday cake once a week, fine, just eat your greens, too, and you’ll be a lot better off.

  • Include healthy fats in your diet
Fat is what gives food flavor, so make sure you incorporate lots of sources of unsaturated fat into your new eating regimen. Spiff up your salads with avocadoes, eggs, olives, and fatty fish like sardines. Make whole grains and veggies more exciting with nuts, seeds, and unprocessed oils like extra virgin olive oil. These foods are not low-fat, but they’re full of protein and nutrients that your body needs.


Wednesday 13 July 2011

Five Housemates Up For Eviction At Big Brother Amplified

After last week’s brutal eviction of three housemates – Alex, Miss P and Weza, Big Brother Amplified housemates have to face another set of nominations. 13 housemates have been booted out leaving another left to vie for the number one spot.
This week’s housemates nominated for eviction are Bernadina, Lomwe, Mumba, Zeus and Nigerian representative Vina after head of house Vimbai saved Wendall and put Mumba up in his place.
The ladies in the house picked the strategy of nominating the men during the nomination session. Most surprising was Kim’s nomination of Lomwe, with whom she has shared some intimate moments. Her reason for doing so as told to Big Brother was that Lomwe was ‘too reserved’.
It was also funny to see Zeus nominate Kim and Vina who coincidentally returned the favour and Karen and Vimbai’s ongoing feud make them nominate each other.
It’s 18 more days to go and the Big Brother Amplified gets more interesting as on July 31, a winner will emerge.

Saturday 9 July 2011

Mo’Hits Searches for First Lady

The second season of Koko Mansion will kick off in a matter of months.
But unlike the debut edition of the reality show which sought to find ‘the ideal Nigerian woman’, this time, Mo’Hits Records, owners of the property, say they’re altering the concept.
This time around, we’re searching for the first Lady of Mohits‘, D’banj said at a recent news conference.
One insider tells us plans for Koko Mansion 2 have reach advanced stages; although not much has been concluded.
One thing is sure though: the show will not run on cable platform HiTV. We’re told Mohits and HITV are yet to resolve issues arising from Koko Mansion in 2009.
Bolanle Okhiria, aa Lagos-based presenter and actress won that edition. Part of the issues observers have raised: she never became D’banj’s date for a year as was promised on the show promo; she never got a Chris Aire diamond ring; never got the convertible car that was promised (Okhiria drives a 2007 Model Mitsubishi Outlander 4WD); and only featured as an extra, in Dbanj’s ‘Fall in love‘ video with Genevieve Nnaji as the star of the video.
We’re told the organisers would be looking at preventing a recurrence of this, as the show enters a second season…

Tuesday 21 June 2011

NETPod: ‘Tomorrow’ + ‘Kolo For You’ – Retta

Retta, the Port-Harcourt based singer has over the last year made quite some noise with just one single, the mid-tempo ‘Kolo for you‘. The 21-year-old’s sound is far from the norm but still has a lasting effect after listening.
I had the opportunity to watch her perform live at the finals of the recently concluded Nigerian Idol and was quite surprised to see her give a below-par performance. Her vocal strength couldn’t match up with the live band play, something a lot of Nigerian singers are struggling with.
But the soft rock singer has dashed any form of under-performance with her latest single ‘Tomorrow‘. Very reminiscent of the Cranbrerries Stars, Retta’s voice is subtle yet captivating. Retta’s style is relatively unique for a Nigerian market where every Tom, Dick and Harry tend towards more upbeat sounds, but she will do well. Thumbs up!

Sunday 19 June 2011

How to Save Money at a Pricey Restaurant


Who doesn't love to go out to a nice dinner? We all know that it can be expensive-but I want to give you some tips on how to make your money go further-and still allow you to have a nice meal out।
Instructions

  • Have one drink at home before you leave. Alcohol is how restaurants make money.

  • 2

    Drink tap water at the restaurant. In many cities it contains more minerals than bottled. Plus, many restaurants fill their own fancy bottles with purified tap water and charge you more! Several brands of water are simply purified and not mineral-based. Also, most resturants have purifers. Don't feel embarrassed to order tap water-and add lemon for freshness and health.

  • 3

    Don't get fancy with ordering drinks; order house wine instead. They charge a premium for specialty drinks. Also, avoid after-dinner drinks; they're pricey!

  • 4

    Have just one piece of bread and tell the server to take it away. You don't need to fill up on the bread basket. If you like, order soup to help you fill up.

  • 5

    Order an appetizer as a starter, another as a main dish and another as a side dish. Have your friend or partner do the same and you'll be able to sample half the menu! Then you won't have to order a main dish, plus appetizers are usually smaller and will help with portion control.

  • 6

    Share a dessert. A little sweetness goes a long way, so not only will you save on the bill, but you'll save calories as well.

  • 7

    Skip the coffee and go out in search of a nice coffee house. It will be another interesting destination-and half the price!

Saturday 26 February 2011

How to use Avocado


Avocados contain vitamins A, D and E.
Avocados contain vitamins A, D and E.

Oil-rich avocados contain high doses of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, D and E. This makes them good for your skin and your body. Whether you're looking to use avocado in skin care recipes or incorporate more produce into your diet, you'll find a wide range of uses for this fruit. Avocados grow in tropical climates and are available year-round in most supermarkets. Try out several new culinary or beauty recipes to incorporate more avocado into your life.

Things You'll Need:

* Avocado
* Cutting board
* Knife
* Spoon
* Olive oil
* Salt
* Pepper
* Red onion
* Chile pepper
* Lime juice
* Cilantro
* Carrot
* Pot
* Blender
* Heavy cream
* Egg
* Honey
* Bowl
* Almond oil
* Vegetable oil

Instructions

Culinary Uses

1 Slice an avocado in half and remove the pit with your fingers. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Cut the halves into small squares with a knife. Add the cut avocado to your favorite salad or dress the avocado alone with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper for a simple side salad.

2 Cut up several avocados in the above fashion, then mash the avocado flesh into a creamy puree using a wooden spoon. Add garlic, red onion, chili pepper, lime juice and cilantro to make guacamole. Guacamole recipes are available online.

3 Cut an avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop the flesh out with a spoon. Slice the flesh thinly crosswise. Add the sliced avocado to your favorite sandwich, whether it's a grilled cheese, turkey sandwich or hummus wrap.

    Beauty Uses

  1. Boil one carrot in water until it's soft. Then remove the carrot from water. Cut and de-seed an avocado as above and scoop the flesh into a blender, using a spoon. Add the cooked carrot, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 egg and 3tablespoons of honey to the blender. Blend into a puree. Then apply this mixture to your face for a mask that helps improve skin tone and texture. Rinse off the avocado mask after 10 to 15 minutes.

  2. Scoop the flesh from one half of an avocado into a bowl. Add five to seven drops of almond oil, then mash together with a spoon. Dab the avocado-almond mix underneath your eyes for a soothing eye cream. Rinse away after five minutes.

  3. Scoop out the flesh from 1/2 an avocado. Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Mash the two together with a spoon. Spread this mask on your face to soothe dry skin. Leave the mask on for 10 to 15 minutes then rinse it off.

Thursday 10 February 2011

Doing Things Like A BOSS!


If you really want to stand out and get ahead at work, you should look around and model yourself after someone that has already made it: the owner.

Does that mean you should start bossing people around and picking on the most insignificant details to torment your coworkers with? Nope, wrong again.

Think Like the Owner

There's a difference. As an employee, you have to worry about your little sliver of job and how it might fit into the bigger slice of pie that is the company.

If you think that's stressful, think about what the owner has to think about:

  • Every single employee
  • The future of the company
  • The revenue
  • The competitors
  • How to lower costs
  • How to increase profits

The list could go on and on.

My point is this: you don't have to worry about these things because you're not the owner, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't.

Start thinking like the owner and you'll see how quickly your perspective changes.

Owners don't check out at 5 o'clock because "the day is over."

Owners don't take a day off because they want to go to the beach.

Owners don't get caught up in the minutiae of everyday office politics.

Is it because they're better than the rank and file? Nope.

They just have bigger fish to fry.

Take More Responsibility

By acting like an owner, you should take on more of that responsibility. Trust me, the owner will appreciate an employee that is not only doing his/her job effectively, but is also worrying about the bigger picture. It will make you look better and it will also change your perspective on your job.

Take the example of Amazon employees that took the light bulbs out of their vending machines—they saved the company $20,000 in electricity costs. Guess who noticed? CEO Jeff Bezos.

So where should you start? The good thing is that owners have so much to worry about that you could pick any one of these "problems" and figure out a way to improve on them:

  • Costs
  • Employee morale
  • Competitors
  • Office politics
  • Technology solutions
  • Efficiency (my personal favorite)

The list could go on and on, but you get the point.

Start thinking like an owner today—it will make you a more valuable employee and it will give you some idea of what it's like in case you want to start your own business some day.

Doing Things Like A BOSS!

If you really want to stand out and get ahead at work, you should look around and model yourself after someone that has already made it: the owner.

Does that mean you should start bossing people around and picking on the most insignificant details to torment your coworkers with? Nope, wrong again.

Think Like the Owner

There's a difference. As an employee, you have to worry about your little sliver of job and how it might fit into the bigger slice of pie that is the company.

If you think that's stressful, think about what the owner has to think about:

  • Every single employee
  • The future of the company
  • The revenue
  • The competitors
  • How to lower costs
  • How to increase profits

The list could go on and on.

My point is this: you don't have to worry about these things because you're not the owner, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't.

Start thinking like the owner and you'll see how quickly your perspective changes.

Owners don't check out at 5 o'clock because "the day is over."

Owners don't take a day off because they want to go to the beach.

Owners don't get caught up in the minutiae of everyday office politics.

Is it because they're better than the rank and file? Nope.

They just have bigger fish to fry.

Take More Responsibility

By acting like an owner, you should take on more of that responsibility. Trust me, the owner will appreciate an employee that is not only doing his/her job effectively, but is also worrying about the bigger picture. It will make you look better and it will also change your perspective on your job.

Take the example of Amazon employees that took the light bulbs out of their vending machines—they saved the company $20,000 in electricity costs. Guess who noticed? CEO Jeff Bezos.

So where should you start? The good thing is that owners have so much to worry about that you could pick any one of these "problems" and figure out a way to improve on them:

  • Costs
  • Employee morale
  • Competitors
  • Office politics
  • Technology solutions
  • Efficiency (my personal favorite)

The list could go on and on, but you get the point.

Start thinking like an owner today—it will make you a more valuable employee and it will give you some idea of what it's like in case you want to start your own business some day.