Curator

http://ift.tt/2sJwvoO People buy snacks at a shop in Doha, on June 5, 2017. Saudi Arabia also closed its borders with Qatar, effectively blocking food and other supplies exported by land to Qatar after Arab nations including Saudi Arabia and Egypt cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism, in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years. Local media in Qatar reported there was already some panic buying as people stock up on food. / AFP PHOTO / STRINGER Saudi Arabia on Monday shut the local office of Qatar’s Al-Jazeera global news channel after the kingdom and other Arab states severed ties with the emirate. “The Ministry of Information closed the office of the Al-Jazeera channel and withdrew the licence it was granted,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported. It accused the channel of promoting “terrorist groups” and supporting rebels in Yemen, after Riyadh and some of its allies including Egypt cut diplomatic relations earlier Monday over Qatar’s all...

http://ift.tt/2senpks The latest American superhero film ‘Wonder Woman’ is set to hit cinemas across the country starting from June 2. The superhero adventure movie is distributed in Nigeria by the leading distribution company in Africa, Blue Pictures. Speaking about the movie, the CEO of Blue Pictures, Joy Odiette said the release of the movie into the Nigerian cinemas follows the media screening held on May 30. “Without a doubt, It is one movie that will hold people spellbound and we are excited to be distributing it here.” “As far as this movie is concerned, we have a sure shot winner in our hands and audience are going to love it. On the expected commercial success of the movie, she said ‘the commercial success of the movie is not in doubt. “Considering the superb content of the movie and its popularity, we are confident that the movie will do well in the cinemas’’. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that “Wonder Woman,” with the title role played by former Israeli a...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremmadu, has advised that the sit-at-home order declared by some right groups in South-East for May 30 should be optional. The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra had called on citizens of South-East to stay at home on May 30 to observe their anniversary. Ekweremmadu gave the advice on Sunday at an Inter-denominational church service at the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Abakaliki, to commemorate 2017 Democracy Day and Gov. David Umahi’s second year in office. He noted that while the agitation and concerns of the groups are genuine, they should not be pursued with force or other forms of armed struggle. “Individuals who operate private businesses and want to stay-at-home on that day should stay, while those who want to operate their businesses should be allowed to do so. “I believe that civil and public workers should be ready to go to work on that day as I appe...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Nigerians who drive diesel  engine cars  or use diesel engine generators to power homes and offices need to read this warning: diesel fume can damage the heart. Researchers at Queen Mary University in London said they have found significant evidence that particulate matter from diesel pollution can cause heart damage. “There is strong evidence that particulate matter [PM] emitted mainly from diesel road vehicles is associated with increased risk of heart attack, heart failure, and death,” Dr. Nay Aung, a cardiologist at the William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, said in a press release. “This appears to be driven by an inflammatory response — inhalation of fine particulate matter [PM2.5] causes localized inflammation of the lungs followed by a more systemic inflammation affecting the whole body.” PM2.5 causes systemic inflammation, vasoconstriction and raised blood pressure, which when combined puts increased pressure on th...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Catholic Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Most Rev Dr Hillary Okeke, has called on media practitioners to be harbingers of good news, just as Jesus Christ, in the discharge of their duties. Okeke gave the charge in his homily at Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral on Sunday, during the mass commemorating the World Communication Day. The bishop, who spoke through the Vicar General of the diocese, Monsignor Patrick Ezeobata, said the media had advanced negativism and sensationalism to the detriment of positivity and objectivity. He said that just as Christ brought good news of unity and hope, journalists should indulge in all that would advance peace in the society. Okeke said that information management and dissemination had now gone out of the control of the traditional media because of the advent of social media, making it difficult to regulate. He, however, appealed to people who had access to platforms used for spreading information to ensure that they monitor wh...

http://ift.tt/2qHH4La Opposition demonstrators pour petrol over an alleged thief during a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on May 20, 2017. According to the Venezuelan Interior and Justice Ministry the victim, Orlando Figuera, 21, who was set on fire accused of being a chavist or a thief, remains at hospital with first and second degree burns in 80% of his body and several stab wounds. / AFP PHOTO / CARLOS BECERRA / Venezuela OUT Doctors rallied in Venezuela on Monday in the latest street protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, as a young man lay in hospital after being set on fire by an angry crowd. The death toll climbed to 48 over the weekend, with hundreds injured and thousands detained, as the unrest entered its eighth week, according to authorities and rights groups. In the latest gruesome unrest on Sunday, a man was beaten, doused in petrol and set alight during a protest in the capital Caracas, an eyewitness video ...