FG lands $3bn Agriculture financing agreement with USAID ...

The Federal Government and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday agreed on a $3bn agriculture financing. The agreement was for USAID to extend its financing role to the agricultural sector, in order to boost the activities of the sector.

During the agreement, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while the USAID Administrator, Dr. Rajiv Shah, signed for the Agency.

The signed agreement is expected to encourage the growth of Agriculture in the country, which will be occasioned by combined training and workshops for local banks and agriculture related enterprises.

During the event, the USAID Administrator, Dr. Rajiv Shah said, the US would stand for a $100m commercial lending to Nigerian banks, adding that the development would promote private financing to the sector.

He said, ?We are very proud of this partnership agreement because we know that in all of the promise and success that the future holds for Nigeria; agriculture nearly 70 per cent of small scale farmers lack access to financing.

?Because of this partnership, hundreds of millions of dollars will be made available so that farmers can access and improve their production system and their processing operations.?

Adesina, however said the guarantee provided by US would help curtail some issues affecting lending in the sector, issues like, risk of default, high interest rates among others.

The minister said, ?What this facility is going to do, and I really commend the Central Bank Governor, is to reduce the risk of lending by banks. We had a meeting last week with the CBN governor and the managing directors of banks, and they were thrilled at the level of activities in the sector.

?They were thrilled at the $8bn investment commitment into this sector in one year and they were also thrilled by the fact that of the N3bn that was lent last year to seeds and fertilizer companies, the default rate was zero per cent.

?So, on this facility, the central bank will put out risk sharing instruments, which will leverage the excess liquidity from the commercial banks. The total amount that we are looking at is $3bn overtime.?

Adesina named the four components that have facilitated the Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing and Agriculture lending as improved value chain in the agricultural sector, insurance cover, risk reduction and technical assistance.

Source: http://businessnews.com.ng/2013/01/18/fg-lands-3bn-agriculture-financing-agreement-with-usaid/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fg-lands-3bn-agriculture-financing-agreement-with-usaid

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Man's Facebook post: 'im about to get shot'

21 hrs.

Suzanne Choney , NBC News

It appears that one of the last things Eric L. Ramsey did before he was shot and killed by?police Thursday?was to let his friends and family know on Facebook that he was about to die.

"Well folkes im about to get shot. Peace" Ramsey posted on the social network at 3:15 a.m. Jan.?17?using his mobile phone.?

How Ramsey had the presence of mind ? or the time ? to make such a statement isn't known. The 30-year-old man from Mt. Pleasant, Mich., had just come off a crime spree that included kidnapping and raping a woman, setting a house on fire and stealing a sanitation truck, then ramming the car of a Michigan state trooper, according to police.

"A short while later, a Crawford County Deputy located the sanitation truck and the suspect ended up hitting the deputy?s car head on. The deputy then got out of the patrol car, ran up to the cab of the pickup and fired shots, fatally wounding the suspect,"?Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said in a press release.?

Ramsey's Facebook post, which remained publicly available as of Friday morning, was an eerie if jarring good-bye, with comments from friends who thought he was joking at first.

Suspects?pursued?by?police?have,?in?some?cases,?used?Facebook?to?share?what?was?happening?to?them.

In 2011, in Utah, a 16-hour standoff with police ended with a suspect who was holed up in a motel room allegedly shooting himself, but not before?posting updates about the tense situation on Facebook.

Read more about the Ramsey case:?Woman protected from rapist by boy, 14, with hunting knife after she leaps from car

Last?fall,?in?Pittsburgh,?a?suspect?went?on?the?social?network?during?a?five-hour?hostage?siege,?and?authorities?said?they?feared that responses from friends, family and others might goad him into violence.?That?incident?did?end?peacefully.

In 2011, in Utah, a 16-hour standoff with police ended with a suspect who was holed up in a motel room allegedly shooting himself, but not before communicating via Facebook during that time.

Check out Technology, GadgetBox, Digital?Life and InGame on?Facebook,?and on?Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/man-shot-dead-after-posting-facebook-im-about-get-shot-1B8030757

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DSIT, eine Tochtergesellschaft von Acorn Energy, pr?sentiert Fallstudie auf der Konferenz Oil & Gas Infrastructure Security Africa

Givat Shmuel, Israel (ots/PRNewswire) ? DSIT Solutions Ltd., eine Tochtergesellschaft von Acorn Energy , wird auf der internationalen Konferenz Oil & Gas Infrastructure Security Africa im Rahmen von Training und Workshops vom 21. bis 25. Januar 2013 in Accra (Ghana) eine Fallstudie pr?sentieren. Halten wird DSIT diese Pr?sentation am zweiten Veranstaltungstag, in den Morgenstunden des 22. Januar. Im Vordergrund der Konferenz steht die Ausarbeitung und Umsetzung neuer L?sungen f?r bestehende und aufkommende Bedrohungen in Afrika. Geschehen soll dies mithilfe neuer Informationen ?ber Herausforderungen und durch die Entwicklung wegweisender Sicherheitsl?sungen in lokalem Kontext (http://oilandgas-security.com [http://oilandgas-security.com/]).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120504/NY01339LOGO [http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120504/NY01339LOGO] )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120426/NY96114LOGO [http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120426/NY96114LOGO] )

?Es ist sehr ermutigend zu sehen, mit welcher Ernsthaftigkeit heute in Afrika gegen die Risiken und Gefahren im Unterwasserbereich vorgegangen wird, die wichtige Anlagen an der K?ste und auf offener See betreffen?, so Dan Ben-Dov, Vice President Vertrieb & Marketing von DSIT. ?Wir sind sehr zufrieden ?ber die gro?artige Gelegenheit, mit Branchenf?hrungskr?ften aus aller Welt, die f?r den Umgang mit Sicherheitsproblemen verantwortlich sind, operative L?sungen zur Erh?hung der Sicherheit von Unterwasserstandorten zu er?rtern. Dabei werden wir ?ber Unterwasserbedrohungen wichtiger ?l- und Gasinfrastruktur, die f?rchterlichen Konsequenzen derartiger Angriffe und nat?rlich auch ?ber die komplette L?sungsauswahl sprechen, die DSIT seinen Kunden aus dem Energiesektor bereits weltweit anbietet, um den einzigartigen Herausforderungen bei der Unterwasser?berwachung Herr zu werden.?

Benny Sela, der CEO von DSIT, erg?nzte: ?Unsere Muttergesellschaft Acorn Energy hat sich das Ziel gesetzt, ,Energie zu verbessern?. DSIT leistet einen Beitrag zu dieser Vision, indem das Unternehmen hochmoderne L?sungen f?r Bedrohungen kritischer maritimer Energieinfrastruktur rund um den Globus anbietet.?

Informationen zu DSIT

DSIT entwickelt Sonar- und Akustikl?sungen und ist als Systemintegrator fortschrittlicher ?Security and Safety Command and Control?-Systeme aktiv. Das gesamte Leistungsspektrum des Unternehmens basiert auf neuester Technologie und ihrem intelligenten Einsatz in den Bereichen Energie, Handel, Verteidigung und innere Sicherheit. Das Leistungsspektrum des Unternehmens umfasst: das HSS-System (Harbor Surveillance System) PortView(TM), das DDS-System (Diver Detection Sonar) AquaShield(TM), das tragbare DDS PointShield(TM), Sonar-Simulatoren und -Trainer, Mobile Acoustic Ranges (MAR) und UASA-Systeme (Underwater Acoustic Signal Analysis). Besuchen Sie www.dsit.co.il [http://www.dsit.co.il/] f?r n?here Informationen.

Informationen zu Acorn Energy, Inc.

Acorn Energy, Inc. ist eine Holding-Gesellschaft, deren vier Portfoliounternehmen ihre Kunden dabei unterst?tzen, gr??ere Produktivit?t, Zuverl?ssigkeit, Sicherheit und Effizienz zu erzielen ? was sich in erh?hter Wirtschaftlichkeit niederschl?gt. GridSense??berwacht alle kritischen Punkte im elektrischen Versorgungsnetz. OMNIMETRIX-?berwacht Notstromerzeugungsanlagen per Fernzugriff und erh?ht so ihre Zuverl?ssigkeit. US Seismic?liefert fiberoptische Sensorl?sungen zur Erh?hung der ?l- und Gasproduktion und Senkung der Kosten. DSIT?bietet Sicherheitsl?sungen f?r Unterwasserbedrohungen maritimer Energieanlagen. F?r weitere Informationen besuchen Sie: http://www.acornenergy.com [Safe-Harbor-Erkl?rung

Diese Pressemitteilung enth?lt vorausschauende Aussagen, die Risiken und Unw?gbarkeiten unterliegen. Es besteht keine Garantie, dass US Sensor Systems Inc. oder Acorn Energy, Inc. ihre Gesch?fte weiter ausbauen, die oben beschriebenen Initiativen umsetzen oder die oben beschriebenen Erwartungen erf?llen werden. Eine vollst?ndige Darstellung aller Risiken und Unw?gbarkeiten, die sich allgemein auf die Gesch?fte von Acorn Energy und auf die Gesch?fte von Tochtergesellschaften beziehen, finden Sie unter ?Risk Factors? im zuletzt ver?ffentlichten Jahresbericht auf Formular 10-K des Unternehmens, den das Unternehmen der US-B?rsenaufsicht (Securities and Exchange Commission) vorgelegt hat.

KONTAKT Idoh Ophir Manager Vertrieb & Marketing DSIT Solutions Ltd. +972-3-531-3333 marketing@dsit.co.il[mailto:marketing@dsit.co.il]

Ansprechpartner f?r Investoren: Paul Henning Cameron Associates +1-212-245-8800 Paul@cameronassoc.com[mailto:Paul@cameronassoc.com]

Web site: http://www.dsit.co.il/

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F?r die oben stehende Pressemitteilung ist allein der jeweils angegebene Herausgeber (siehe Quelle Firmenname) verantwortlich. Dieser ist auch grunds?tzlich Urheber, sowie auch f?r jegliche Bilder und weiteren Materialien in dieser Pressemitteilung.

Blogspan.net (Alexander Baumg?rtner) ?bernimmt keine Haftung f?r die Korrektheit oder Vollst?ndigkeit der dargestellten Meldung. Auch bei ?bertragungsfehlern oder anderen St?rungen haftet sie nur im Fall von Vorsatz oder grober Fahrl?ssigkeit.

Source: http://www.blogspan.net/presse/dsit-eine-tochtergesellschaft-von-acorn-energy-prasentiert-fallstudie-auf-der-konferenz-oil-gas-infrastructure-security-africa/mitteilung/376762/

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Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods Trade Shots for Nike Golf

Rory McIlroy made headlines this week by signing an endorsement deal with Nike worth a gazillion bucks (or at least $20 million a year for five years, possibly more). The 23-year-old Northern Irish golfer makes his Nike ad debut alongside Tiger Woods in this Wieden + Kennedy spot, which in its first 24 hours on YouTube amassed a gazillion views. (Actually, about 2.5 million.) Tiger and Rory compete in a fantastic driving-range competition and send balls sailing for miles to land in various cups of all shapes and sizes around town. "Just trying to keep up with the old guy," Rory teases. "Is that your real hair?" Tiger quips. Whatever. Golf sucks. The spot is amusing, reminiscent of McDonald's game of horse between Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. It's more entertaining than the unfathomably popular Turkish Airlines ad with Leo Messi and Kobe Bryant, which has been viewed?and I'm only barely exaggerating?by every human being who's ever lived on the planet. The Nike ad is awkwardly titled "No Cup Is Safe," inspiring snarky comments (quickly purged, but just as soon replaced) about bra sizes, shafts and "No hole being safe" when Tiger's around. I take back what I said before. Golf rocks! Credits below.

CREDITS
CLIENT: Nike Golf
PROJECT NAME: "No Cup Is Safe"

AGENCY
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Don Shelford (AD), Tyler Whisnand (CW)
Copywriter: Shaine Edwards
Art Director: Derrick Ho
Producer: Felicia Glover
Account Team: Scott Sullivan, Ken Smith
Executive Creative Directors: Susan Hoffman, Mark Fitzloff
Agency Executive Producer: Ben Grylewicz

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Hungry Man
Executive Producer: Dan Duffy
Editors: Matt Hilbur, Eric Hill

MUSIC, SOUND DESIGN
Music, Sound Company: Search Party
Song: Jungle Jump
Producer: Sara Matazzo

MIX
Mix Company: Eleven Sound
Mixer: Jeff Payne
Producer: Caroline O'Sullivan

Source: http://adweek.feedsportal.com/c/34792/f/641561/s/2794c20a/l/0L0Sadweek0N0Cadfreak0Crory0Emcilroy0Eand0Etiger0Ewoods0Etrade0Eshots0Enike0Egolf0E146583/story01.htm

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Game industry worth $83bn by 2016, research claims ... - Develop

Mobile and online spearheading sector growth as social gaming investment plummets by $1 billion

Online and mobile are spearheading the game industry?s growth to a potential total valuation of $83 billion by 2016, according to new research.

Conducted by Digi-Capital, the global games investment review states that online and mobile could have a revenue share of $48 billion in 2016, 55 per cent of the entire game industry.

The biggest driver in mobile and tablet app revenue meanwhile will be free-to-play, which could deliver 55 per cent of revenue in the sector and account for 93 per cent of app downloads by 2016.

The research also covers a record year for mergers and acquisitions in the industry, which added up to an impressive $4 billion in 2012 through 83 transactions.

The number of M&A?s however was down 27 per cent from 2011, although transactions only amounted to $3.4 billion during that year.

In 2012, the most popular sector for mergers and acquisitions was the MMO market, which accounted for 38 per cent of all transactions, with mobile closely behind making up 27 per cent of the value of all M&A?s.

Social gaming meanwhile accounted for 18 per cent of the total value in mergers and acquisitions, middleware and gamification made up 13 per cent, with console-focused companies making up just four per cent.

Seven of the ten largest mergers and acquisitions in 2012 were made by Chinese, Japanese or South Korean companies.

Social gaming investment plummets

Investment in the game industry totalled $853 million from 165 transactions in 2012, a decline of 57 per cent from 2011.

Middleware and gamifcation led the way making up 35 per cent of the total investments made, followed by mobile at 31 per cent, MMOs at 18 per cent, social and casual at seven per cent and console/PC also at seven per cent.

Social gaming was blamed for the sharp decline, with a drop in investment of $1 billion compared to 2011, a fall of 94 per cent.

Digi-Capital noted that venture capitalists had abandoned social games investment during last year, excluding mid-core and social gambling, while some VCs even outside the social sector left the market completely.

Kickstarter's impact

Kickstarter was also mentioned in the report, accounting for six per cent, or $49 million, of all video game investment in 2012.

The biggest concentration of investment through the crowdfunding site went toward PC games, which made up 63 per cent of all funding, followed by hardware at 23 per cent.

87 per cent of all investment raised went into just seven per cent of successfully funded projects.

As for consoles, despite a decline in market share and popularity, Digi-Capital noted that the next generation of consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony could rejuvenate the sector should they adapt to free-to-play, become more communal and enable more cross-platform play.

You can view the full review at the official Digi-Capital website here.

Source: http://www.develop-online.net/news/42997/Game-industry-worth-83bn-by-2016-research-claims

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St. Louis school: Shot worker expected to recover

Police respond to the report of a shooting at Stevens Institute of Business and Arts in St. Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. Police say a gunman entered the school and shot a person in the chest, then shot himself. Everyone inside the building was evacuated, though police were checking the school to make sure the building was empty. The conditions of the shooting victims were not immediately known. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Carson)

Police respond to the report of a shooting at Stevens Institute of Business and Arts in St. Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. Police say a gunman entered the school and shot a person in the chest, then shot himself. Everyone inside the building was evacuated, though police were checking the school to make sure the building was empty. The conditions of the shooting victims were not immediately known. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Carson)

Police and emergency personal respond to a shooting victim at Stevens Institute of Business and Arts in St. Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. Police say a gunman entered the school and shot a person in the chest, then shot himself. Everyone inside the building was evacuated, though police were checking the school to make sure the building was empty. The conditions of the shooting victims were not immediately known. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Carson)

Police direct a group of people away from the area as they respond to a shooting at the Stevens Institute of Business and Arts in St. Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. Police say a gunman entered the school and shot a person in the chest, then shot himself. Everyone inside the building was evacuated, though police were checking the school to make sure the building was empty. The conditions of the shooting victims were not immediately known. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Carson)

Police and emergency personal respond to a shooting victim at Stevens Institute of Business and Arts in St. Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. Police say a gunman entered the school and shot a person in the chest, then shot himself. Everyone inside the building was evacuated, though police were checking the school to make sure the building was empty. The conditions of the shooting victims were not immediately known. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Carson)

Police investigate outside the scene of a shooting Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013, in St. Louis. Police say a gunman walked into the Stevens Institute of Business and Arts business school in downtown St. Louis and shot an administrator in the chest before shooting himself. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? A St. Louis college administrator who was attacked in his office by a gunman who then allegedly shot himself is expected to fully recover, the school said Wednesday.

Greg Elsenrath, the financial aid director at the Stevens Institute of Business & Art, is recovering from surgery following Tuesday's attack, the school posted on its Twitter and Facebook pages.

"We are very happy to report this morning that Financial Aid Director, Greg Elsenrath, came through surgery last night with flying colors and is expected to make a full recovery," the Facebook posting read. "Greg appreciates all your thoughts and prayers and we will continue to update him with your kind messages."

The school encouraged students to reach out to instructors and their peers for support.

"This unimaginable act of violence has proved the strength of our bonds as a Siba family and we intend to come out of this event with those bonds intact and stronger than ever," it said.

Officials didn't immediately respond to phone messages seeking further comment.

Authorities say the gunman, a part-time student who they haven't publicly identified, shot Elsenrath in the chest before shooting himself in the torso. He is also recovering from his wounds following surgery, and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce's spokeswoman said charges could be filed against him later Wednesday.

Police haven't offered a possible motive for the attack, but Chief Sam Dotson described it as "targeted." He said the suspect had been attending the school off and on for four years and hadn't previously made threats or acted violently.

According to the school website, Elsenrath lives in Winfield and has worked in financial aid for 15 years. He has a bachelor's degree from Missouri Valley College and an MBA from Lindenwood University.

The attack caused a panic inside the historic, five-story building in the city's downtown loft district.

Britanee Jones, 24, was among the 40 or 50 people in the building during the attack. She hid under a desk while her classmates ducked into closets or ran out of the building. Her mother, Angae Lowery, raced to the school to make sure her daughter was safe.

"She sent a text message and said a gunman was in the building," Lowery said. "She saw him (the gunman) go by the classroom."

Police found Elsenrath, who had been shot in his fourth-floor office, near an elevator and the suspect in a stairwell between the third and fourth floors, he said. Police found a handgun.

The school has about 180 students in programs including business administration, tourism and hospitality, paralegal studies, fashion, and retail and interior design.

Dotson said police arrived within one minute of getting a call about the shooting and used an "active shooter" protocol developed after a 2010 shooting spree in which a man killed four people and wounded five others at ABB Inc., a St. Louis transformer manufacturer.

Several people left messages on the school's Facebook page expressing dismay that a shooting happened there, and expressing prayers for a quick recovery for the administrator. The school posted on the Facebook page that it would be closed until 8 a.m. Jan. 22.

Several messages left Wednesday with the school's president, Cynthia Musterman, and members of the staff were not returned.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-16-School%20Shooting-St%20Louis/id-3dcccf3a3d3844ddbf17207c1430c92c

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News in Brief: Chemical tied to intergenerational obesity

Mice ingesting the compound tributyltin pass effects to grandchildren

By Erin Wayman

Web edition: January 14, 2013

Exposure in the womb to a chemical used in PVC and ship paint promotes obesity in mice. And the effect is long-lasting: The mice?s grandchildren were also fat despite no exposure to the chemical.

The work shows that the effects of an obesogen ? a chemical that encourages fat accumulation ? can be passed on to future generations not exposed to the chemical, researchers report online January 15 in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The compound tributyltin is often added to PVC as a stabilizer and to marine paint as an antifouling agent. Raquel Chamorro-Garc?a of the University of California, Irvine and colleagues fed pregnant mice tributyltin in their drinking water at quantities similar to what people might ingest through house dust and other sources. The mice gave birth to pups that developed more and larger fat cells, as well as fattier livers, compared with unexposed pups.

These changes appear to be permanent. The children and grandchildren of these mice also had increased amounts of body and liver fat.

The findings confirmed previous work showing that tributyltin affects the function of a gene that regulates body fat production and reprograms certain stem cells to become fat cells rather than bone cells.

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/347610/title/News_in_Brief_Chemical_tied_to_intergenerational_obesity

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