Recently the press has quoted Rav Ovadia saying that one should first say the bracha and then light shabbat candles. Are there different customs among sefardi and ashkenazi and if so why, and what do you suggest?

The Sfardi Minhag is as Rabbi Ovadia said to make a Bracha and then light. The Ashkenazi Minhag is to light first and then to make a Bracha. Rabbi Yaakov Cohen