Team Sayari Revealed As Title For National Geographic Kids Africa Programme

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Team Sayari Revealed As Title For National Geographic Kids Africa Programme

Following field production commencing earlier this year, as well as the announcement of the local hosts, The Walt Disney Company  Africa, together with its project partners, National Geographic, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and WildlifeDirect have today revealed both the title and the set of the highly anticipated National Geographic Kids programme.

Inspired by the programme’s aim to motivate lasting, impactful behavioural change in young viewers across the continent and create the next generation of environmental conservation leaders, the programme will be titled Team Sayari. Incorporating the Swahili term for ‘planet’, the title embodies the programme’s goal – to provide viewers with the knowledge, skills and tools needed to conserve and protect the natural world, in a fun way.

In the series, the young presenters will visit the wild to meet African experts in five countries across the continent to explore, discover, learn about our environmental challenges and be inspired to reduce their impact, protect and restore nature.

Filming has also commenced in a custom-built set in Nairobi, the Sayari Basecamp. A first-of-its-kind in Kenya, the set embodies childhood imagination and adventure with a tree house-inspired hideout that is locally built and designed, including African-inspired and nature-based motifs, coupled with elements of advanced technology. It comes complete with a mission control wall, a cosy chill area and a lively interview spot. The Sayari basecamp was produced almost entirely from recycled and upcycled materials, true to the ethos of the show.

The central feature is a gigantic tree, with a textured trunk named Funzi (derived from the Swahili word for learning) featuring interactive artificial intelligence technology and a DNA helix, and which imparts knowledge about the environment and challenges our young presenters. To impart a sense of movement, Funzi’s inner section spins slowly during interaction.

Wood panelling, leafy foliage and porthole-style windows complete the ambience of a hideaway nestled in a tree, high in the sky. Upholstery on the furniture, that was made from organic materials, features dual-level African print, which provides layers of texture and pops of colour. The set’s shelving is hand-crafted, adding an element of quirkiness to the design. A live-edge table where the markings of the tree have been  preserved for a raw look, will be dressed uniquely per episode.

At basecamp, Funzi gives the studio presenters, Mysha Hodson (13), Marita Lucas (12), Shanah Manjeru (14), Railey Mwai (10) and Adarsh Nagda (12) missions to complete, laying the foundation for the many adventures and fun throughout the episodes. It is also from this intriguing environment that they will link with other presenters from East, West and South Africa.

Team Sayari is the result of a collaborative effort between National Geographic, The Walt Disney Company Africa, USAID, the U.S. State Department and WildlifeDirect. The series, produced by local production company White Rhino Films aims to celebrate the environment and raise awareness of conservation and associated issues in a fun and relatable way, will air later this year on both National Geographic Wild and Disney Channel across Africa. There will also be engaging digital extensions on social media platforms that will allow viewers to further explore topics addressed in the series as well as an outreach programme that will extend the reach of the programme into countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Meta’s Display Chief  Displayed 10 Characteristics Of An Ideal VR Headset

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Meta’s Display Chief  Displayed 10 Characteristics Of An Ideal VR Headset

Douglas Lanman has been with Meta for eight years and is the head of the department that develops display systems. In June, his team unveiled new VR glasses prototypes.

The prototypes address various technical challenges such as resolution, brightness, and form factor. The researchers’ goal is to develop a VR display that can visually reproduce physical reality while fitting into a small headset.

Lanman presented on the top ten challenges remaining in developing a near-perfect VR headset at this year’s Siggraph conference. Following is a list of those ten challenges, along with a brief explanation. The video of Lanman’s talk is available at the end of the article.

High resolution
In terms of resolution, current VR headsets do not come close to human vision. The resolution of VR displays must be significantly increased in order for virtual worlds to appear as real and sharp as if they were physical, and for texts to be read well even at medium distances.

Meta’s preliminary target is 8K per eye and a pixel density of 60 PPD. In comparison, the Meta Quest 2 (review) manages only 2K per eye and 20 PPD.

Meta created the Butterscotch prototype, an experimental headset that allows researchers to experience “retina resolution” and evaluate its immersive effect. The most difficult issue is not the development and production of high-resolution displays. Rather, the issue is where to house the computing power required to power such high-resolution displays. Although focalized rendering and cloud streaming may be useful, they present significant technical challenges in and of themselves.

Larger field of view
Lanman believes that much work needs to be done in terms of field of view. The horizontal field of view of a human is approximately 200 degrees wide. Commercially available virtual reality headsets typically have a horizontal field of view of 100 degrees. However, there is still room for advancement in the vertical field of view.

A wider field of view presents significant challenges for lens technology, resulting in image distortions at the field’s edges. The issue of computing power arises here as well. The more pixels the VR headset has to display, the wider the field of view. As a result, power requirements increase and waste heat increases.

Ergonomics VR headsets are still large and cumbersome. Meta Quest 2, for example, weighs over a pound and sticks out nearly three inches from the face. VR headsets should ideally be comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, as well as much narrower and lighter in design.

Pancake lenses and holographic lenses may be useful. Meta’s fully functional Holocake 2 prototype demonstrates the form factor’s potential. The issue is that Holocake 2 relies on custom-built lasers as a light source, which are not yet mass-producible.

Vision correction display
The ideal VR headset should be capable of detecting and compensating for users’ vision deficiencies, so that traditional glasses or contact lenses are not required to see well in virtual reality. Will prescription glasses fit under the virtual reality headset without scratching the lenses or pressing down on the wearer’s face? In the future, consumers should not have to deal with such issues.

The problem could be solved with special attachments or, even better, with a lens that can be adjusted to the user’s own visual acuity.
Variable focus
The human eye cannot naturally focus in VR environments, which is particularly annoying at close range and can lead to eye fatigue and headaches over time. Technically, this is known as vergence-accommodation conflict.
To address this issue, Meta’s researchers created a display that supports “progressive vision.” The display simulates different focal planes as well as blurring, allowing the eye to see the virtual world as if it were created in nature. Meta’s varifocal prototypes are dubbed “Half-Dome.”

The problem with eye tracking is that it doesn’t work equally well for all people and occasionally has dropouts. A reliable solution with broad demographic coverage is needed. Otherwise, the technology frustrates rather than helps and is rejected by consumers.

Distortion correction

Lenses inherently introduce image distortion that must be corrected by software. The slightest movement of the pupil causes fine but noticable distortions. They impair visual realism, especially in combination with other technologies such as progressive displays.

Elon Musk Claims That Tesla Has Produced Over 3 Million Vehicles

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Elon Musk Claims That Tesla Has Produced Over 3 Million Vehicles

Tesla has produced over three million vehicles, according to CEO Elon Musk’s tweet on Sunday. According to the tweet, Tesla’s Shanghai factory has produced one million cars out of that total.

“Congratulations, Giga Shanghai, on producing the millionth car!” “Over 3 million Teslas have now been produced,” Musk tweeted.

Musk’s announcement comes after months of Chinese lockdowns and parts shortages that threatened Tesla’s vehicle production, and it suggests that Tesla’s Shanghai factory is producing a significant number of new vehicles following its opening in 2019 and subsequent years of investment.

Musk’s total vehicle achievement on Sunday comes as Tesla’s reported deliveries, the closest approximation for sales, have been increasing in recent quarters. Tesla announced in July that it delivered 254,695 vehicles in the second quarter, a 26.5% increase year on year.

However, the achievement highlights Tesla’s relative insignificance in comparison to automotive behemoths. Toyota, for example, delivered over 10 million vehicles in 2021 alone. Tesla announced earlier this year that it intends to increase vehicle deliveries by 50% per year.

Tesla also has plants in Fremont, California, Austin, Texas, and near Berlin, Germany, in addition to Shanghai. Musk announced in July that the company’s first factory, in Fremont, had produced 2 million vehicles.

Musk stated in June that he wanted to “get the Shanghai plant back in the saddle,” and that Tesla’s Berlin and Austin plants were “money furnaces,” losing “billions of dollars” due to supply chain and production issues.

In 2022, Tesla stock is down nearly 25% as investors reassess fast-growing companies in the face of inflation and macroeconomic concerns. Musk sold over 7 million Tesla shares worth approximately $6.88 billion last week while also embroiled in litigation over his efforts to terminate a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.

Illegal Debit: FCMB Customer Battles For Refund Of Millions Stolen From His Account

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Illegal Debit: FCMB Customer Battles For Refund Of Millions Stolen From His Account

A customer of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) who preferred to be called George Braide and who has an account with the bank at the Aba Road by GRA branch of the bank in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Port Harcourt is asking the bank to refund his N7 million which was taken from his account digitally within three days, Independent report.

The customer of the bank, who preferred to maintain some confidentiality due to an ongoing police investigation, said what he first noticed on a Saturday early July 2022 was that his MTN phone line was no longer working and he went to an MTN service centre to log a complaint.

Braide, the 60 year old retiree, after reporting the incidence of phone blockade at the MTN office was told that his phone had no issue that could warrant the blockade and his phone was subsequently unlocked.

After the phone was unlocked, and on his way to his car, messages started pouring in. There were multiple transfers to Opay accounts, binge purchases and all manner of withdrawals from his account starting from Saturday morning when his phone first went off.

Then the climax was the transfer of N4 million from the account done just that Monday morning, probably while he was to the MTN office. In all N7 million was withdrawn from the account that has his retirement benefits between Saturday morning and Monday.

The advent of technology that seems to have reshaped the nation’s banking sector in the quest to meet up with its peers all over the world has created issues and has always made it easy for money belonging to customers disappears from their accounts.

In the past all the banks had to do was to lock up the funds in highly secured vaults. It was always a tough job for the bank robber to reach them, secured by all manner of metallic barriers and human guards.

That’s why they would often target the bank tellers or hope to march the branch manager to lead them to the vault. Even here banks often had measures to make it a most onerous task.

All that has changed in the digital era as criminals can breach the computer systems of financial institutions to reach the digital equivalents of the good, old vaults, and move large sums of money that would’ve made the bank robbers of old quite envious.

Then he began to wonder if something had gone wrong with his linking of his phone line to his national identity number which caused it to be suspended, as he had heard other people complain.

Because he was able to continue using his WhatsApp to make calls and reach people, the incentive for immediate rectification wasn’t there. So, he waited until early Monday morning to go to an MTN office to find out what had gone wrong with his phone line.

Unplug These Appliances To Reduce Your Electric Bill

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Unplug These Appliances To Reduce Your Electric Bill

Even when not in use, your household appliances can consume electricity. Many common devices, from your laptop charger to your printer, still perform certain functions when plugged in, adding unnecessary costs to your electric bill.

Fortunately, there is a simple solution: simply unplug the appliances when not in use. Unplugging them will prevent energy from silently draining out and increasing your bills, ultimately saving you both electricity and money.

But how much money is actually saved by unplugging appliances? Is it even possible to save energy by unplugging appliances? Is it worth the hassle of constantly plugging and unplugging appliances?

We’ll look at why unplugging appliances can save you money, how much you could save, and how to make disabling plugged-in appliances easier. (We also have advice on how to save money on your water bill, the best temperature to set your thermostat to this summer, and whether it’s cheaper to buy groceries online or in-store.)

LBS Executive Breakfast Session – July 2022 (Re – What Goes Up Never Comes Down???)

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LBS Executive Breakfast Session – July 2022 (Re – What Goes Up Never Comes Down???)

What goes up will come down…., but when???

The laws of gravity tell us that whatever goes up must come down, literally meaning that the good times do not last forever and also bad times are not in perpetuity.

For Nigerians, who are facing a confluence of economic hard times, they are not interested in the theories of gravitational forces.  They are dealing with kitchen table realities.  The annual inflation according to the NBS reading is at 17.71% whilst the market prices are pinching households at a rate(83.50%) much higher than is reported.  The power supply situation has gone from bad to hopeless and the price of diesel is up 290% to N800 per litre, if and when you can get it.

Political Choices are not great for 2023 (But it is what it is)

In the midst of all these, Nigeria is at the cusp of what is likely to be a life-defining election. The choices are not great, because the challenges are far beyond the capacity of the bench (but it is what it is).  The historical triangle of power amongst civilian governments since independence in Nigeria has been the North West, South West and North East.  This is now being extended to include the South East (a new quadrangle of power).

The cost of any electoral victory in a country plagued by abject poverty (83 million people) makes the purchase of votes a lucrative transaction for willing buyers and sellers.  Our crude electoral cost matrix including the price of placating loosing opponents is at an outrageous figure in excess of N3 trillion (approx. 16% of the annual FGN budget).  The electoral cost recovery process could undermine the effectiveness of government in the next dispensation.

Naira in a crawling peg (N428 official – N618 parallel)

The CBN seems to have slowly allowed the official rate to slide by 1.75% (N8) from 420 to 428 in the last week.  Since the supply did not increase correspondingly, we have also witnessed the Naira plunge in the parallel market to N618.  We believe that Naira will appreciate slowly in the parallel market in the weeks ahead as the CBN releases additional forex and allows the crawling peg (official) to adjust towards N235/$.

All of these policies, challenges and political developments are leaving analysts bemused (puzzled), markets confused (scratching their heads) and speculators amused (having a field day).

In this edition of the LBS Breakfast Session, Bismarck Rewane and the FDC Think Tank analyze the current developments in the market, the economy and its impact on your business and strategy.

Read more HERE

Nigeria’s Inflation Jumps 17-Year High To 19.64%

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Nigeria’s Inflation Jumps 17-Year High To 19.64%

Nigeria’s inflation rate in the month of July 2022 rose to a 17-year high of 19.64%. This compares to 18.6% recorded in the previous month of June 2022.

The latest inflation data is according to the recently released Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for the month of July 2022, by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The last time Nigeria’s inflation was above 19.64% was in September 2005 when it rose to 24.32%. This is according to Nairalytics, a web portal that publishes Nigeria’s historical macroeconomic data. Notably, the uptick in the inflation rate was driven by increases in the food and core index.

Further breakdown of the report shows that the urban inflation rate rose by 2.08% to 20.09% in July 2022 from 18.01% recorded in July 2021, while the rural inflation rate hit 19.22% from 16.75% recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.

Food inflation

  • The closely watched indicator to its highest level in 14 months, standing at 22.02% in July 2022, representing a 1.42%-point increase compared to 20.6% recorded in the previous month. On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in July stood at 2.04%, this is 0.01% lower than 2.05% recorded in the previous month.
  • According to the NBS, the rise in food inflation was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, food products, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fish, oil, and fat.
  • Meanwhile, the average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve-month period ending July 2022 over the previous twelve-month average was 18.75%, which represents a 1.42% points decline from the average annual rate of change recorded in July 2021 (20.16%).

Core inflation

  • The ‘’All items less farm produce’’ or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 16.26% in July 2022, compared to 15.75% recorded in the previous month. This also represents the highest core inflation rate since January 2017, when the rate stood at 17.8%.
  • On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was 1.75% in July 2022. This was up by 0.20% when compared to 1.56% recorded in June 2022.
  • Notably, the highest increases were recorded in prices of Gas, Liquid fuel, Solid fuel, Passenger transport by road, Passenger transport by Air, Garments, Cleaning, Repair and Hire of clothing.

States with highest inflation rate

Akwa Ibom State recorded the highest inflation rate in the month under review with 22.88%, closely followed by Ebonyi State with 22.51%. Others include Kogi (22.08%), Bayelsa (21.6%), and Rivers State (21.37%).

In terms of food inflation rate, Kwara State recorded the highest with 29.28%, followed by Akwa Ibom (27.22%). Kogi State recorded 26.08% food inflation rate in July 2022, while Ebonyi, and Ekiti State recorded 25.83% and 24.78% respectively.

What this means

  • Nigerians have had to deal with the rising cost of goods and services following the Russia-Ukraine war, which caused a significant rise in energy prices, spiralling into a global energy crisis and food supply issue.
  • Nigeria is one of the countries with significant uptick in its cost of living as a result of high inflationary pressure. On a year-to-date basis, Nigeria’s inflation rate has increased by over 400 basis points from 15.63% recorded in December 2021 to 19.64% in the review month.
  • This implies that the consumer price index has increased by 12.7% between January and July 2022. This means that the purchasing power of Nigerians has been eroded. In basic term, keeping income at a fixed level, Nigerians are not able to purchase as much as they have been able to with their monies.

Four HKTDC August fairs and ICMCM close on a High Note

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Food Expo and concurrent events attract more than 430,000 visitors

HONG KONG SAR – is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises, and to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via and . For more information, please visit: . Follow us on @hktdc and

Nasal-spraying LiveSpo NAVAX: Probiotics of the next generation for respiratory infections

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HANOI, VIETNAM –

Seven Months Of Rewarding Customers In The Stanbic IBTC Reward4Saving Promo Draws

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Seven Months Of Rewarding Customers In The Stanbic IBTC Reward4Saving Promo Draws

In a bid to keep inspiring Nigerians to develop a healthy savings culture, Stanbic IBTC Bank, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, held its seventh Reward4Saving promo draw at its head office on Monday, 08 July 2022. The July draw is the fourth of the second season of the promo and the seventh since inception.

The promo, which has rewarded 287 customers in the second season is expected to reward customers with cash prizes ranging from  ₦100,000 monthly, ₦1 million quarterly prize, and ₦2 million grand prize, from seven zones.

Adenike Nubi, Head, Mobile Financial Services, Stanbic IBTC Bank, stated that the July draws were carried out to encourage Nigerians to save while creating funds for their summer expenditures.

“Saving is a necessity, especially in our economic clime. Having funds can bring about peace of mind, as there is comfort in knowing that there is a pool of funds somewhere to fall back on when there is an urgent financial need. The Reward4Saving promo adds value to Nigerians, as it allows them to earn funds in their savings accounts while promoting a savings culture. Part of our strategic priority at Stanbic IBTC is to transform our customer experience, by aiming to do valuable things for our customers,” Adenike noted.

Olufunke Isichei, Head, Established Markets, Stanbic IBTC Bank said the promo is aimed at engraining a savings culture in the minds and hearts of Nigerians. He said: “For this month’s draws, we have rewarded 70 winners across different states with N100,000 cash prize each, as a way of appreciating individuals who have saved their funds in their accounts and e-wallets. The act of saving requires dedication, consistency, and discipline. As a financial institution committed to improving the lives of its customers, we will continue to reward the diligence and dedication of savers in Nigeria.”

“I congratulate our customers for emerging as winners in our July summer monthly draw. We understand that every fund received in their accounts will put a smile on the faces of our customers and we urge them to put their winnings to good use. To the public, we urge you to keep saving, to earn larger rewards.”

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