News Extra
By Rachel Ogbu
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Bulletproof clothes Now here
Another step has been taken towards securing lives and property. Bullet proof clothes have now been added to bullet proof cars and vests. They are designed to save lives from thieves or assassins in a fashionable way. The clothes were designed by Miguel Caballero which began marketing the high-security garments at Harrods, a high-class department store in London.
The clothes are very stylish and are not easily detected as bulletproof. They include blazers, raincoats and suede jacket with comforting bulletproof lining. But these new styles don’t come cheap. For instance, a polo shirt that can withstand bullet shots from a 9mm revolver has a price tag of $7,500. Another shirt designed to protect the wearer from automatic weapons such as mini-uzrs costs about $9,000.
Caballero said since the crimes and conflicts in countries increased, his profits had sky-rocketed. He has had to open new sales outlets in about 16 countries. In 2007, his company made a profit of nine million Dollars selling protective clothes. This year he made the same amount of profit before August.
Some of his loyal customers include King Abdullah of Jordan, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Steven Segal, an A-list Hollywood actor.
Youths for Healthy Environment
A group of youths gathered on August 12 to celebrate the International Youth Day, IYD, declared by the United Nations in 1999. The Global Xchange Returned Volunteers in Lagos organised a two-day awareness and action event with the theme "Securing the future: climate change and you", which was adapted from the IYD theme for this year's celebration – "Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action."
The two-day event used a documentary screening on Climate Change titled "Faceless" and a tree planting activity to awaken the consciousness of young people to the issues affecting their environment and the need to actively take action towards sustaining the environment and securing the future.
Nike Fagade, programme officer for GIVE Network, a volunteer organisation and organisers of the event told Newswatch that the programme was planned and aimed at building active citizens, especially among the young people who possess the energy to do positive things if directed in the right channel.
A panel of environmental specialists shared their thoughts on the gravity of the issue of climate change showing that green house gases released from ‘pure water’ sachets, cars, factories, generators and refineries had increased in the last year causing increase in temperature and ocean surge on Lagos Island.
Corpse kept standing for three days
It sounds more like a fairly tale. A young Puerto-Rican man requested before his death that he didn’t want to lie in-state during a wake-keep. And his family granted his wish by allowing his corpse to stand for three days.
Angel Pantoja Medina, 24, stood with the aid of a special embalming treatment at the corner of the living room wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses as family and friends came by to pay their respect. According to Carlos, his brother, the deceased had always said he wanted to be happy and standing at his own wake-keep
Although Medina died unexpectedly on August 15, his mother asked Damaris Marin, owner of the Marin Funeral Home to fulfill her dead son’s wish.
His body was found under a bridge in San Juan and was buried Monday, August 18.
Strange Inventions go on Display
A group of very odd inventions were on display last week at the Weird and Wonderful Inventions exhibition that would last till November 10. Among the items were a self-pouring teapot, a moustache protector and a grenade that quenches fire.
The interesting devices were all products of Maurice Collins, a man with a passion for extreme creations dating from 1851 to 1951.
Collins, who also showed off his 1920 automatic nose hair cutter and 1930 dynamo shaver said inventors nowadays had to be good marketers to be successful. "Britain was a phenomenal nation of inventors but things have changed. Nowadays, it’s got to be manufactured abroad and the system of selling has become quite difficult," he said.
The British library now has its own resident inventor in its Business and Intellectual Property Centre that was established to aid people who want to start their own companies.
Condom ring Tone launched in India
The fight against HIV/AIDS has been taken aggressively all over the world and organisations as well as countries are using various means to create awareness on how to prevent the disease. Recently, the Indian government took a technological approach in the fight against AIDS by using mobile phones to spread the message. A ringtone that chantes "condom, condom!" was launched to promote safe sex. It is intended to promote condom use.
Bill Gates, Microsoft chief and Melinda, his wife, financially backed the campaign helping the organizers to tackle the inhibitions and taboos associated with condoms in India.
The organisers used the mobile phone to launch the campaign because India is regarded as the world’s fastest-growing mobile telephone market with about 270 million users.
Radharani Mitra, creative director of BBC World Service Trust who is also behind the ringtone said ring tones had become personal statements that a specially created condom ring tone seemed the right way of combining a practical message with a fun approach.
The ringtone, can be downloaded at condomcondom.org.
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