UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, shuns #BringBackOurGirls group for presidential dinner

Moon & Buhari in Abuja

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, on Monday avoided a meeting with members of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign group, in order to attend a dinner with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa.

Members of the group who thronged to Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, in anticipation of a meeting with the UN scribe at 6:30pm, were left dejected as he failed to show up for the meeting.

The group had earlier in the afternoon sent out e-mails inviting media houses to cover a proposed meeting with Mr. Ki-moon, but about 45 minutes after the scheduled time, a female police officer came to speak with one of the group’s leaders, Aisha Yesufu.

Moments later, the Special Advisor to Mr. Ki-moon on Post 2015 Development Planning, Amina Mohammed, and later the group’s convener, Obiageli Ezekwesili, told the campaigners and the media that the UN scribe was off to meet with Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, for a dinner.

“Unfortunately, he is attending a dinner with the president. Otherwise, he would have passed through to say hello to the rest of the group,” Ms. Ezekwesili said.

She said that at an earlier meeting with victims of Boko Haram, Mr. Ki-moon had assured them of UN’s renewed interest to continue to be a voice for the abducted Chibok girls.

According to her, the secretary general also said the multinational effort of the military will be supported by the UN, noting that a soft approach is needed in the reintegration of the victims into the society through inclusive development.

“I continue to say it that there is no response that satisfies us more than being able to see the girls. It is 497 days, and in three days, it would have been 500 days since the girls got missing,” said the former minister.

She added that the group’s hope lies on the three month-deadline given to the military by the president to clear the country of terrorists in the North Eastern part of Nigeria.

This, she hopes, will amount to tangible results in the rescue of not only the Chibok girls but all those who are under the captivity of the insurgents.

The #BringBackOurGirls group started its campaign immediately after the abduction of over 200 girls from their hostel in Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State on April 14, 2014.

The group has since then garnered global support since their campaign started putting pressure on Nigerian government to ensure the safe release of the girls.

Vanguard

Athletics: Okagbare stumbles as Fraser-Pryce shine

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare failed in her bid to win her first 100m gold at the 2015 IAAF World Championships, as she came last in the women race decided at the Beijing National Stadium, in China.

Okagbare

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the race with crossed the line in 10.76 seconds to beat the strong-finishing Dafne Schippers, who set a Dutch record of 10.81 for second place.

American Tori Bowie finished third in 10.86 to win bronze.

Okgabre, stumbled a bit at the starting blocks and she was left behind by the strong field. She finished 11.02 a far cry from her season’s best of 10.84 seconds.

1 Shelly-Ann FRASER-PRYCE JAM 10.76

2 Dafne SCHIPPERS NED 10.81 NR

3 Tori BOWIE USA USA 10.86

4 Veronica CAMPBELL-BROWN JAM 10.91

5 Michelle-Lee AHYE TTO 10.98

6 Kelly-Ann BAPTISTE TTO 11.01

7 Natasha MORRISON JAM 11.02

8 Blessing OKAGBARE NGR 11.02

Female reporter is attacked by mob who rip her clothes during live TV coverage of anti-government protests in Lebanon

Correspondent was surrounded by mob during a live broadcast in Beirut

Footage shows her screaming and cowering for cover as she is attacked

Came as police fired tear gas and water cannon on second day of violence

At least 240 people and 30 officers hurt in riots over 'corrupt' government

A female reporter was attacked by protesters on live TV during the anti-government demonstrations in Lebanon.

The correspondent for Lebanese channel LBC TV was giving a live broadcast in the middle of the riots when she was surrounded by a mob.

Dramatic footage shows her screaming and cowering for cover as she is assaulted by the crowd who tear at her clothes.

It came as riot police fired tear gas and water cannon for the second consecutive day in Beirut as they battled protesters with batons in clashes that wounded at least 240 people and 30 officers.

Reporter attacked during live report in the middle of riot

In the thick of it: A female reporter presents a live broadcast from the middle of the Lebanese riots shortly being attacked a mob of protesters

Terrifying: Dramatic footage shows the reporter screaming and cowering for cover as she is assaulted by the crowd who tear at her clothes

The violence came hours after Prime Minister Tammam Salam hinted he might step down following violent protests on Saturday that injured more than 100 people.

The demonstrations, the largest in years to shake Lebanon, seek to upend what protesters see as a corrupt and dysfunctional political system that has no functional Cabinet or parliament, nor a president for more than a year.

Protest organisers said they pulled their supporters out of the area after men they described as political thugs began fighting with police, trying to tear down a barbed wire fence separating the crowds from the Lebanese government building.

Organisers of the 'You Stink!' protests later said they were postponing demonstrations set for Monday evening, saying they would hold a news conference later to explain their decision. 

 

Flashpoint: Tear gas canisters are fired by police, not seen, against protesters, pictured in the background, during demonstrations against a rubbish collection crisis, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, late Sunday

Lebanese protesters kick tear gas canisters during anti-government demonstrations in downtown Beirut

Lebanese riot police gather around an anti-government protester, centre on the ground, who fainted from the smell of the tear gas canisters during a protest against an ongoing trash crisis in downtown Beirut, Lebanon

Gunfire could be heard in the capital's commercial district into the night as police fired in the air to disperse those who remained after officers used tear gas and water cannons against the crowds.

Lebanese Red Cross spokesman George Kattaneh told Hezbollah's Al-Manar television channel that the violence wounded 44 people who required hospital care, while some 200 others received medical treatment on the spot.

A police statement said protesters wounded 30 police officers, one of whom was seriously hurt.

The chaos continued into the night as police battled masked youths who set up barricades in Beirut's downtown and near the blue-domed Mohammad al-Amin Mosque in Martyrs' Square.

A few remaining protesters set tyres ablaze there, with some even pulling down trees and throwing them into the fire.

Armored vehicles deployed against protestors in Beirut


Lebanese army patrol a street in downtown Beirut. Riot police battled for a second night Sunday after demonstrators rallied over government corruption and an ongoing trash crisis. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon for the second consecutive day in Beirut as they battled protesters with batons in clashes that wounded at least 240 people and 30 officers

Thick, black smoke drifted over the capital. Others damaged traffic lights and other public property.

At first, the protest began peacefully, with thousands angered over Lebanon's political deadlock protesting.

The demonstrators take root in the garbage piling up on the streets after the capital's main landfill was closed a month ago.

The 'You Stink!' campaign and other civil society groups organised the rallies, calling on Lebanese to join them in a revolt against political corruption.

'We are ruled by corrupt losers! All of them – warlords, legislators and ministers – are working for their own interest and not those of the people,' said Nada Qadoura, a retired woman who took part in Sunday's protest along with two of her friends.

'The will of the people will eventually succeed no matter how long it takes.' 

A Lebanese riot policeman, left, fires rubber bullets against anti-government protesters in downtown Beirut

On the frontline: The demonstrations seek to upend what protesters see as a corrupt and dysfunctional political system that has no functional Cabinet or parliament nor a president for more than a year

The clashes broke out shortly before sunset when angry protesters tried to break through barbed wire in Riad Solh Square leading to the government's headquarters.

Police beat back protesters with clubs and water cannons, occasionally hurling stones at protesters who threw rocks and water bottles.

Later Sunday evening, protesters broke through the first barbed wire after intense clashes with security forces.

When the protesters got closer to the government headquarters, police fired tear gas, forcing thousands to flee.

The protesters set a police motorcycle ablaze. Some protesters carrying clubs also attacked police vehicles, hurling stones and bottles at them.

'Shabiha!' the protesters would shout, an Arabic term often used to refer to thugs.

Security forces use tear gas and water cannon on protesters


Riots: Lebanese anti-government protesters run as they throw stones against riot police, not seen

A Lebanese anti-government protester lies on the ground after he was beaten by the riot police officers

At least four men were seen being led away by security forces, their hand tied behind their backs.

Sunday's protest was larger than the previous day's, with some local television stations saying about 20,000 people participated.

Protesters now are demanding that the country's top politicians resign, saying they are not fit to rule to country.

Salam, Lebanon's prime minister, said in a news conference earlier Sunday that if this Thursday's Cabinet meeting is not productive, 'then there is no need for the council of ministers.'

Lebanon has a sectarian power-sharing system that ensures equal representation between the country's main religious sects.

The arrangement often leads to complete paralysis, though Lebanon has been relatively calm amid regional instability.

A resignation by Salam would risk plunging the country into further chaos.

Lebanon managed to survive the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled Arab dictators, the onslaught by the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and the fallout from 1.2 million Syrian refugees now straining its economy.

But political disputes have kept the country without a president for more than a year.

Parliament has extended its own term twice and has not convened because lawmakers differ on whether they can continue working before voting for a president.

That deadlock led to the trash crisis, which has some residents burning trash on the streets, sending toxic fumes over the city's skyline and into homes.

Lebanon's health minister has warned of a coming environmental catastrophe as some have started dumping trash in valleys, rivers and near the sea.

The Mail

Road signs saying ‘420’ are changed to ‘419.9’ to stop weed smokers giggling

For reasons lost in the mists of time – or possibly in a big cloud of hydroponic weed smoke – the number ‘420’ is code for pot.

It’s SO GODDAMN HILARIOUS that weed-addled types often stop their cars to remove road signs with the number on it – hence this new, less funny sign saying 419.9.

It’s much like the predicament faced by the Austrian town of F*cking, where the road sign vanishes constantly.

Authorities in Idaho have had enough, however – and have removed the ‘420’ sign on Highway 95 and replaced it with a much less hilarious 419.9.

What will the stoners do now? Probably go back to watching Netflix and eating takeaway, we suspect.

Metro

Ikorodu robbery: Police forced us to confess, suspects tell court

The robbery suspects paraded Monday in Lagos.

The robbery suspects who allegedly robbed banks in Ikorodu have told the Federal High Court in Lagos that the confessional statements they made to the police were not voluntary.

The defendant’s lawyer, Olusegun Akanbi is prays the court to order the police to produce them if they are still alive.

He said the suspects “made confessional statements to the members of the press out of duress”.
He argued that it is illegal for the police to parade criminal suspects and have them grant press interviews under compulsion. ‎

The lawyer is praying the court for an order compelling the police to produce the four suspects in court because their families were denied access to them.

The accused persons are ‎Agbojule Bright, Promise Abiwa, Monday Omoboye and Monday Ikuesan.

They were paraded on July 6 in connection with the robbery of the Ipakodo branches of First Bank and Zenith Bank in Ikorodu.

The police said they were part of an 18-man gang which made away with about N80million in the robbery on June 24.

The four suspects had reportedly confessed to playing different roles in the alleged crime while three Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) allegedly bought with the robbery proceeds were recovered from them.

Akanbi claimed that the police violated the suspects’ right to remain silent or to avoid answering any questions until after consulting with a lawyer in line with Section 35(2) of the 1999 Constitution.

According to the lawyer, the suspects may not get a fair trial since they have “already suffered prejudice in the eye of the public due to unfair publicity and unprofessional acts of the defendants.”

He claimed that the police refused to allow him or the suspects’ family members to see them in detention.

“The applicants’ counsel were not allowed to see the applicants or even to have a brief interview with them when they visited the defendants on 15th July 2015.

‎“The applicants’ constitutional rights under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution are at stake because the defendants have already taken a biased position by denying the applicants’ family or their counsel their right of visiting them in police custody.

‎“It will be in the interest of justice if the applicants are brought before this honourable court so that the court can ascertain whether the applicants are still alive.

“It will be in the interest of justice if the applicants can be charged by the defendants to court since they have already spent over 24 hours in custody.

“Failure to do this will amount to usurpation of the constitutional powers of the judiciary,” the lawyer argued.

He claimed that the suspects were entitled to N5million damages for what he described as their unlawful detention.

Justice Mohammed Yunusa adjourned to S‎eptember 7‎ to enable the Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase respond to the suit.

Vanguard

SPORTS: MOTHER TO OLISEH: Eagles job na fire, my son

Ade Ojeikere

Oliseh

•If to say he easy, na everybody for dey do am

•Gives son consent to take Nigeria job

Nigeria’s senior team chief coach Sunday Oliseh shocked his audience last week Monday at the Onikan Stadium’s conference centre when he revealed what his mother told him before accepting to take the Super Eagles job.

Disclosing this to newsmen at a jaw-jaw session, Oliseh said: “Let me share this with you. When I was to take the job, I told my dad and my mother. I will share what my mum told me with you.

“I called my father and mother that they are offering me this job, but my mother told me ‘Na fire my son’. But she told me something that I really loved, she said “If to say he easy, na everybody for dey do am” But if I want to succeed, I should work hard to do it well that was what she said.

” I don’t have the base to work on but I try to look at it that in the past one year, we have played 62 players and that is practically six teams. I don’t mean those who played regularly but those who were invited to camp. In the national

teams we have over 11 to 12 games and for now I don’t have a base of six regular players that I can build the team around.

To tell me now to start performing miracles by winning matches otherwise you resign if you don’t win this. I don’t think Guardiola or Morinho will do that? My job is cut out for me and it is a lot of work. I look at it as a difficult task but I cannot succeed if we are antagonising ourselves.”

The Nation 

Buhari sued over AMCON board

Joseph Jibueze

Activist-lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has filed a suit against President Muhammadu Buhari over for appointing the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) board without recourse to the Senate.

He said the appointments, made on August 19, was in clear violation of the relevant statute setting up the agency.

He referred to Section 10(1) (C) of the AMCON Act 2010 which provides that the board, consisting of three executive directors nominated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in consultation with the Minister of Finance, must be appointed subject to Senate confirmation.

Adegboruwa is seeking a declaration that the President cannot appoint anyone as Executive Director of AMCON without complying with Section 10(1)C of the AMCON Act 2010.

He prays the court to hold that the appointments, having been made without complying with the Section, is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

The lawyer is asking for an order “nullifying, annulling, voiding, cancelling and invalidating the appointment of the Executive Directors of AMCON by the President.”

Adegboruwa is also seeking to obtain an order of perpetual injunction restraining the persons purportedly appointed by the President from functioning or further parading themselves as AMCON’s Executive Directors.

The Nation

Nigeria: Indolent NASS and dictatorial rule

By Ochereome Nnanna

WE have been complaining about President Muhammadu Buhari’s snail’s pace in appointing people to crucial posts in his government, especially the federal cabinet. At least, the president has proffered a presentable alibi: he is taking his time to look for “angels” to help him run his administration. He does not want to rush to pick crooks and thus run into avoidable embarrassments. Being “Mr Clean”, he wants his team members to be clean as well.

This sounds like sweet music to the ears of his teeming admirers, particularly those panting for a clean departure from the past spate of sleaze and scandals in government. We are waiting for Buhari to unveil this angelic team. Who knows, the wait could be worth the waste. Even the children of Israel took forty years to arrive the Promised Land from servitude in Pharaoh’s Egypt. All that matters is that they got to the Promised Land.

If Buhari has a plausible excuse for his “slow and steady” approach, how do we justify how the National Assembly (the Senate and House of Representatives) are going about theirs? Take a look at this: the two chambers of the Eighth Assembly were inaugurated by a presidential proclamation on 9th June 2015. Between then and now, they have embarked on FOUR expensive recesses. After the controversial election of the Senate President and his Deputy, as well as the Speaker of the House of Reps and his Deputy, NASS recessed for two weeks to enable their members get properly “checked in”. They had sat for only three days before the recess that started on June 11th.

They reconvened on June 25th, sat for another three days and went on a four-week recess that was scheduled to run from June 25th to July 21th, after a shameful “royal rumble” on the floor of Reps. The resumption date was postponed to July 28th to give the majority All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers more time to sort out their power tussle mess. On resumption, they sat for plenary business for nine days and on August 13th, both chambers proceeded on what they called their “annual leave” which will last for six good weeks. This means they would resume on September 28th 2015.

Now, between June 9th and September 28th, you have 101 days; nearly a third of the year is gone. From my own computations, I was able to establish that the Eighth National Assembly has sat for only 15 days for plenary business, though I admit that the committees are always busy behind the scenes. No bills have been passed; all we have seen is a lot of fisticuffs for posts and the screening of Buhari’s Service Chiefs. For this the country has spent about 12 billion Naira on our indolent lawmakers. It is estimated that so far, each senator has gone home with 36 million Naira, while the Reps members took 25 million each. There is nothing in the way these chaps are carrying themselves to reflect the fact that majority of those who elected them have not been paid their salaries for months in their states, and that Nigeria is groping for funds to cope with the latest oil bust.

The danger in this lack of legislative presence and impact is hydra-headed. We have just experienced an unprecedented power transition from one political party to another. President Buhari is forming his touted reformist government with very little legislative partnership and oversight. A lot of irregularities are being injected in the appointment of some officials. The due process has been largely circumvented, and the constitutional imperative of carrying every section of the country along has been ignored with impunity. A section of the country continues to predominate, and a cult of nepotism and marginalisation has been enthroned. These are the things a virile and vigilant National Assembly is supposed to check in order to ensure a balanced federal government.

Dangerous and vexed issue

The dangerous and vexed issue of irregular and unconstitutional appointment of Hajiya Amina Zakari as “Acting” National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is waiting for the attention of the federal legislators. The Presidency has ignored all calls to remove Zakari and appoint a substantive, credibly independent INEC Chair through the constitutional due process. Meanwhile, Zakari, at the top of a thoroughly emaciated INEC Board that cannot even form a quorum, is preparing to conduct the impending governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States! The legal consequences that lie in ambush against the outcome of such elections are obvious, but nobody seems to care.

The Directorate of State Services (DSS) under President Buhari’s kinsman, Lawal Daura, has been meddling in the election tribunal proceedings in Rivers and Akwa Ibom States. These are two oil-rich Niger Delta states which collect hefty sums of monthly allocations from the Federation Account which, some allege, the ruling APC is desperate to add to their electoral haul by all means possible. The law does not permit our secret police to meddle and suborn officials of the otherwise independent INEC and the Judiciary in the discharge of their duties. The National Assembly which has the power to intervene and save the situation is nowhere to be found!Only last week, another controversial set of appointments were made by President Buhari. He dissolved the Board of the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON). Its MD, Mr. Mustapha Chike-Obi, was fired and Alhaji Ahmed Lawan Kuru sent to replace him. Three new Executive Directors were also appointed. In flagrant violation of the AMCON Act of 2010, Buhari appointed these chaps without due regard to legal requirement that the president must consult with AMCON’s owners – the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMOF), which shall nominate the appointees, while the president forwards their names to the Senate for confirmation before they assume office. If the NASS were active and alert to their responsibilities, they would have raised the alarm to this act of impunity and insisted on the due process being followed.

Besides, it is obvious that when Buhari eventually unveils his ministers in September, the nation may have to wait for the Senate to end its expensive recess before the usually lengthy confirmations are carried out. We will have only three months left of the year, during which the screening of ministers and other presidential appointees and the budget of 2016/2017 must be done. There will be a lot of bills to debate and oversight functions to carry out within this little time. From the look of things, it is very likely that the NASS will miss the constitutional minimum of 181 days they must sit in a year. It will be recalled that the Seventh National Assembly missed the timeline by one day in the 2014/2015 legislative year.

It is very dangerous for the NASS to continue on its current path of allowing the Executive Branch to carry on just as it likes without being there to call it to order. The pity of it all this is that the PDP legislators, who are supposed to spearhead the effort against the growing impunity of the Presidency, are apparently unconcerned. It is not even a case of the Presidency or Executive undermining the independence of the NASS; it is a case of the NASS abdicating its responsibility and thus creating the room for dictatorial rule.

We are lying supine and clapping while a violation of our democracy and the rule of law are being perpetrated. We might wake up one day and find ourselves back to 1984, or worse. Have we willingly surrendered the gains of the past 30 years, without even a fight?

Vanguard

'So you're just going to phase me out?' Couple's break-up on board US flight is live tweeted by fellow passenger

Kelly Keegs, from New York, tweeted the painful break-up

The shocked woman thought the relationship was 'going somewhere' 

But by the time they landed, the couple appeared to have made up

Do you know the couple? Email femail@mailonline.co.uk

A couple's emotional break-up on board a US flight has been live tweeted by a fellow passenger and read by thousands of people around the world.

Kelly Keegs, from New York, was seated in the opposite row to the unnamed man and woman and, overhearing the entire exchange, decided to take to social media to share the encounter.

The relationship started to break down during a 50-minute flight from Raleigh, North Carolina, when the woman started sobbing after the guy asked her: 'Is this really a surprise? Are you seriously surprised by this information?'



The unknown woman covers her face as she sobs, according to Kelly Keegs who broadcast the exchange

The woman looks away while her defensive partner looks down

But the woman is clearly taken aback and reacts to her partner's comments, sarcastically pointing that she's 'so glad' that she had to pay more cash than he did for the flight.

She said: 'I'm so glad I paid $40 extra to be on this flight with you.'

The man then says: 'I don't care.' To which she responds: 'I'm glad you don't care.'

Kelly then tweets that the woman has demanded answers about what her partner is doing.

She asked: 'Is that what you're starting to do with me? Just slow fade me out, just like the others?'

Kelly then writes that the woman has blamed her boyfriend for her current personality.

She said: 'I want to be my best for you but you won't let me.'



The boyfriend starts by saying it shouldn't be a surprise that this is happening


A bone of contention is the amount the woman paid for the flight with her partner


The man says he doesn't care about his girlfriend paying extra for the flight


The woman is angry at her partner and wants to know why he's breaking up with her


The woman says she is this way because of the relationship and doesn't want to be 'this girl'


She accuses her boyfriend of starting to fade her out 'like the others'

Kelly continues tweeting and also adds that 'this is the greatest plane delay I've ever had.'

The man stays quiet while the woman is determined not to let him break up with her quietly.

She said: 'You don't even understand why I'm f***ing sad. You hate everything about me.

'Why is this so easy for you?'

The man finally caves and tells her to calm down.

But the woman continues and says she felt the relationship was going somewhere.


But Kelly is pleased and calls it the 'greatest plane delay' ever



The woman is still angry and doesn't hold back when confronting her partner


She is distressed by how easily he is breaking up with her and doesn't feel he is affected by it


Although the man remains calm, the woman still shows her surprise and thought it was 'going somewhere'

Kelly then uploads a picture of the couple with the woman looking out of the window and away from her boyfriend.

There's silence apart from loud sobbing from the woman.

The boyfriend tries to stop the awkward situation, saying he 'can't discuss this anymore.'

But there's even more intrigue when the woman says she's going to ask Charlotte about him.

She said: 'I'm going to ask her the minute we get home and we'll see if your stories match up.


The woman keeps on sobbing but the couple sit in silence


She tells him to stop talking despite clearly wanting answers from her partner


She threatens to ask Charlotte who knows more than she's letting on, according to the girlfriend


But the man refuses to be drawn and tries to stop his girlfriend from continuing this argument

But in a plot twist, Kelly tweets that the couple begin kissing.

Whether it was a reconciliation or simply saying goodbye, Kelly appears shocked by the quick turnaround.

Kelly wrote: 'We took off, they immediately ordered six vodkas and Bloody Mary mix for the 50-minute flight and chugged them in silence in between make outs.'

Kelly has not updated on whether the couple appeared to go their separate ways following the flight.


But strangely, they begin kissing in what might be a goodbye gesture


The couple then order Bloody Marys and continue kissing, to Kelly's confusion

The Mail

Women Are Far More Willing To Confront Relationship Problems Than Men

Niki McGloster in Women

Aug 24, 2015 

Love isn’t exactly dead, women have just become increasingly more vocal when deep affections turn sour.

For instance, Jennifer Garner recently gave hubby Ben Affleck his walking papers when yet another Nannygate debacle surfaced in the media. A source told People magazine Ben “underestimated the work that marriage requires,” which caused Garner to choose single status, rather than quietly live in unhappiness.

I have never been divorced, but I imagine it’s about as funny as a Blue Ivy/R Kelly joke, and certainly less comedic than Julianne Moore’s chatty breakup with Steve Carell in “Crazy Stupid Love.”

For any woman, dissolving a marriage can be an unforeseeable and life-altering event. But according to a new study by sociologist Michael Rosenfeld, 69 percent of divorces are initiated by women.

Though heading to Splitsville is usually a mutual decision in non-marital heterosexual relationships, women are still more inclined to speak the truth and request an out. Here’s why, in today’s social climate, women are actively confronting relationship woes.
Women are more vocal about leveling male privilege.

Though gender norms have changed significantly, most men aren’t snatching up their girl’s surname like Zoe Saldana’s other half, or even going halfsies on household chores.

In recent years, major strides in equalizing gender roles at home and work have been made, but archaic expectations still bog down women who’ve turned the girlfriend guy into a hubby.

In his study, Rosenfeld noted,


Even though we no longer live in an era where wives are legally subordinate to their husbands, the institution of marriage still carries certain expectations.

Less than 10 percent of women hang on to their maiden name, signifying that men and women still grasp onto age-old, accepted subordinate/owner gestures.

There are some women who are slowly shaking unfair stigmas that surround being in relationships by balancing power dynamics in a twosome, like becoming breadwinners and demanding 50/50 partnerships.
Women are no longer tolerating unreasonable behavior.

Read: Women aren’t taking men’s sh*t.

Long gone are the days where f*ckboy ways are tolerated without consequence.

Female responses to a General Social Survey claimed single women tend to be more interested in marriage and commitment than single men.

But while a significant amount of women are granted divorce due to men’s infidelity, other studies show women are canceling out their significant others for things like mental cruelty, gambling and boozing.

Regardless, whether couples are sporting matching wedding bands or can barely commit to exchanging keys, women are openly articulating their happiness, or lack thereof.
Attitudes about women, sex and social status are changing.

Sex isn’t just a weapon that hangs like a guillotine over women’s heads anymore. Side-eyes toward confident women with healthy sexual appetites are fading faster than Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential bid.

Sexual liberation isn’t a scarlet letter to be hidden — as we’ve seen with Christine Ouzounian’s rising celebrity — but a freak flag flown with pride. That alone has influenced women to be less silent when problems arise with men.

Nowadays, women are owning their happiness and seeking it aggressively, whether that means fearlessly addressing matters head on or ultimately giving men the boot.

Elite Daily

There’s No Right Time For Love, Success Or Happiness, So Stop Waiting

Paul Hudson on We’re Still Learning

Aug 24, 2015 • 5:23pm

Timing may not be everything. But it’s something. Timing means finding an opportunity in your life when you’re mentally and physically prepared to conquer something.

The stars have to align just right to allow you to make the most of the hand you were dealt.

Unfortunately, for the most part, timing is out of our hands. There are always other factors and other people involved.

Getting it right is, in part, luck. It’s not all luck, of course. You do have control over yourself and how ready you are to get things done. But sometimes you have control over nothing whatsoever.

To find fortune in business or love, the environment has to be right. Your mindset has to be in the right place, too.

In terms of business success, remember that the mindset of your competition and your consumers matters a lot. This should affect the timing of the proposal or venture you want to pursue.

If you’re looking for happiness in love, you need to be sensitive to your partner’s current line of thought. If only you is ready for love, that’s not enough. If your partner isn’t ready, you’re going to fail.

Happiness itself depends on factors affecting your mood and perceptions. Timing is essential. Whether you like it or not, time and space in our lives is relative.

If you want to get to a certain place in life, you need to calculate your transition and the time it will take to get there.

But how do you time something just right when there are so many factors completely out of your control? Well, the truth is you can’t. You can never time things precisely right without relying on a bit of luck or faith.

There is no “right time” for love, success or happiness. And this isn’t because the right time doesn’t actually exist. It certainly does. But you won’t know when it’s right until you reach it.

In other words, you’re always going to be shooting in the dark and realizing how precise your timing was only after the fact. But there are some ways you can improve your timing (even if you cannot predict it).
Be smart and observant.

While you may not be able to see and/or understand all the variables at play, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do your best to try and figure them out.

Keep your eyes open. Ask questions. Challenge your beliefs. Challenge the way you see the world and those around you.

Human beings get less observant the longer they stay in a single place or setting. The instinct of observation only kicks in when we find ourselves in a place we aren’t familiar with — it’s part of our survival mechanism.

If you want to leave wherever it is you are in your life and get to somewhere new — somewhere better — then you’re going to need to keep your eyes open for a way out (or for a way IN to wherever it is you want to be).

This applies to getting the man or woman of your dreams or finally kickstarting that career you always hoped for.

Before you can make it to the next level — regardless of the specifics — you’re going to need to understand exactly where you are right now.

You must understand the current situation so you can learn how to tweak it to accommodate your hopes and dreams.
Don’t rush things, but never give up.

Don’t push when pushing has no positive result. Easing off the gas isn’t a bad thing when you have no choice but to sit in traffic.

You can push against that brick wall all you want, but until a way through or around it exists, you won’t make any progress.

But don’t think that because you don’t know a way out that one doesn’t exist. Instead of beating a dead horse, devote your time and energy toward finding a way past the obstacle.

Don’t try to find shortcuts because shortcuts in life don’t exist. If you’re going to do something, then do it right, or don’t do it at all. No cutting corners.

Most importantly, never stop pursuing whatever it is you’re pursuing. I’d happily wager that our timing is best when we try less to make that happen.

High achievers usually find success once everyone else has given up. Sometimes refusing to quit the race is enough to win it.
Never compare yourself to others.

The only person you should compare yourself to is the person you were yesterday.

Learn from your mistakes. Learn from your failures. Learn from your successes. Just keep learning and learning and learning.

Competing with other people means constantly trying to keep up with their changing attitudes and beliefs. It’s a lost cause. You won’t win.

You can’t beat other people, because they’ll always be two steps ahead of you at their own game. Be a winner at your own game.

Be a better version of the person you were yesterday. Be a better athlete, employee, entrepreneur, lover and partner.

Always strive to improve the unique person you are. This is a little secret that only a few people understand. It’s the only way to be happy.

Happiness is elusive because circumstances in life are ever-changing. Happiness marks a difference from previous, sadder times. Happiness means that you’ve experienced a positive difference in your life and are content with your life now.

It feels different than it did before. When you improve a little bit every day, you always have something to be happy about and grateful for.

In life, things will never be perfect. Things will never be exactly the way you want them to be. No matter the subject, nothing will ever be perfect.

Perfection exists only in our heads. We made it up. What you need to be happy is just one thing to be happy about. Remind yourself of the time in your life when you didn’t have that one thing.

Think of the positive difference you’ve made. Keep working on you, and you’ll realize that choosing to be happy gets easier.

For More Of His Thoughts And Ramblings, Follow Paul Hudson OnTwitter, Facebook, And Instagram.

Elite Daily

Woman decides it’s cheaper to live in a train than a flat

Leonie Muller now lives on a variety of trains travelling across Germany

Renting an overpriced property in London? You might sympathise with this woman.

Leonie Muller has decided to start living on a train in Germany, after a dispute with her landlord prompted her to move out.

Now, the college student has bought a $380 subscription that means she can board every train in the country at no cost – and make the most of the facilities on offer.

She’s able to wash her hair in the train bathroom and even pens her university essays while travelling across the country, and described her digs as ‘like being on vacation all the time’.

She can even have a shower onboard

Describing her initial decision to leave her flat, Leonie told the Washington Post: ‘I instantly decided I didn’t want to live there anymore – and then I realised: Actually, I didn’t want to live anywhere anymore.’

Nearly all of her worldly belongings are fitted into a small backpack – filled with clothes, college papers, a tablet computer and a sanitary bag.

And while Leonie is living on the train for most of the time, she’ll often stay at the home of her boyfriend, mother, or grandmother – when the train rolls into their town.

All aboard!

‘Normally, we would have to have a long-distance relationship, but living on a train enables me to see him all the time’, Muller told TV station SWR about her boyfriend.

She added: ‘I read, I write, I look out of the window and I meet nice people all the time. There’s always something to do on trains.’

And it seems there’s an academic side to the whole thing, too – with Muller planning to record the whole experience for her final undergraduate assignment.

Metro

Dozens of witnesses see the Antichrist hovering over Los Angeles

All hail our infernal master, Satan! (Picture YouTube)

Our infernal master, Satan, has sent out his first-born son, the Antichrist, in a move which may well herald the end of the world.

That’s the perfectly reasonable conclusion of one UFO fan, after seeing a strange flying humanoid over LA last week.

Many of us might conclude that this was a Michelin-man-style inflatable – but no, it’s more likely to be the Antichrist, or perhaps a shape-shifting alien.

One UFO fan said that the apparition, filmed hovering over LA by three UFO fans, recalled Project Blue Beam – a conspiracy theory where NASA uses the antichrist to start a new religion.

Others suggest that it could be a hologram, or, more boringly, a balloon.

YourNewsWire said, ‘The sight was captured by not one, but three different cameras as a part of a UFO research group’s meet-up.

‘While yournewswire.com cannot verify the authenticity of the video, the fact that it was shot by multiple people, from different angles, and on different cameras certainly makes it worth watching.’

Indeed!

Metro

Nicole Scherzinger shows off her pert posterior and ample sideboob as she sunbathes topless during relaxing beach day in Malibu

She's rumoured to be enjoying a hot new romance with Ed Sheeran.

But on Saturday it was all about the girls as Nicole Scherzinger enjoyed a beach day in Malibu with her best pal.

And the ex Pussycat Doll made the most of the California sunshine by stripping off for a topless sunbathing session on the sand.


And relax: Nicole Scherzinger stripped down to a pair of black bikini bottoms as she sunbathed on Malibu beach on Saturday

The 37-year-old showed off her amazing beach body as she kicked back on Saturday.

Stripping down to her black bikini bottoms, Nicole looked incredible as she displayed her pert posterior and plenty of sideboob.

Laying on her front on a colourful towel, the star added a wide-brimmed straw hat and a pair of large shades to keep cool in the scorching temperatures.

Later, Nicole uploaded another Instagram pic, snapping a selfie as she showed off her natural beauty with just a smattering of makeup and wavy hair.

Time for a selfie: The 37-year-old singer also snapped a sunny self portrait as she enjoyed her relaxing weekend

Surfing the wake! Nicole Scherzinger shows off her board skills

Nicole was enjoying a day with her best pal Katie Morris, with the two ladies posing for another selfie on their way to Malibu beach.

The star's laid-back Saturday comes amid suggestions she's dating chart-topping singer Ed Sheeran.

After Nicole posted a picture with Ed, showing the duo back-to-back and adding the playful caption: 'Okay okay you win @teddysphotos [Ed], you're taller,' reports surfaced that the two were romantically involved.

The duo have reportedly been spending more and more time with each other and are said to be 'in the early stages of dating', according to The Sun newspaper.

While Ed and Nicole have been friends for some time, things allegedly stepped up a gear when she split from her long-term on-off boyfriend Lewis Hamilton, 30, in February.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Nicole Scherzinger and Ed Sheeran for comment. 

Just us girls: Earlier in the day the singer pouted for the camera as she and her best friend made their way to the beach

Nicole Scherzinger wows in white at gifting event in LA

The Mail

Nigeria: SSS charges ex-NSA, Sambo Dasuki, to court for ‘undermining national security’

Former National Security Adviser - Sambo Dasuki

The State Security Service on Monday announced that it has charged the immediate past National Security Service, Sambo Dasuki, over alleged “acts capable of undermining national security.”

A statement Monday by an official of the Service, Tony Opuiyo, said Mr. Dasuki was charged for “possession of fire arms without license punishable under section 27(i)(a)(i) of the Firearms Act Cap F28 LFN 2004″.

The statement said, “You may recall that on 16th July, 2015, the Department of State Services (DSS), carried out a search operation on properties belonging to the immediate past National Security Adviser, Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (Col/rtd), in Abuja and Sokoto.

“This action was necessitated by credible intelligence which linked him to acts capable of undermining national security. The search operation led to the recovery of large cache of arms and ammunition among other things and for which further investigation was conducted. 

“Consequently, on Monday 24th August, 2015, he was charged to court based on evidence so far obtained, but which relates to possession of fire arms without license punishable under section 27(i)(a)(i) of the Firearms Act Cap F28 LFN 2004. This is in line with democratic practice and our avowed commitment to the rule of law, in which nobody is deemed to be above the law no matter how highly placed in the society. Accordingly, the general public will be duly informed as the matter progresses. 

“Meanwhile, the Service recommits itself to the fundamental role of providing adequate security for all Nigerians to enable them pursue their legitimate aspirations and businesses.”

PT.

Advert for Windows 95 will give you serious flashbacks

You could never open too many windows of the whole thing would crash (Picture: YouTube/Microsoft)

The year of the first Toy Story film was released in cinemas, Friends series two was on TV and Oasis’ Wonderwall was in the charts. Oh, and this page would have taken several days to load.

If that makes you feel old then this video will give you major flashbacks.

It is the original advert for the Windows 95 operating system which was launched 20 years ago today.

There was no internet, well, not as we know it… but there was Minesweeper, Solitaire, Pinball and that screensaver where it looked like you were walking through a house.

And if you were really lucky there was Encarta.

If you were really lucky your computer had this (Picture: Microsoft)

It was all tied up in a computers that took up half the spare room.

Windows 95 revolutionised home computers.

According to the Office for National Statistics only a quarter of households owned a computer in 1995- this had double by 2001.

Remember this? (Picture: Microsoft)

The media hype around the launch of Windows 95 was the first time people queued around the block for the latest piece of technology.

Three years after the launch, Bill Gates’ Microsoft has become the world’s biggest company- worth around $613bn.

Metro

Entertainment: I don’t need a husband -Bimbo Akintola

Bimbo

Bimbo Akintola is an actress that is no doubt very beautiful and sexy, but her single status has remained a mystery to her fans. But she doesn’t seem bothered about not finding a husband. The actress who is in her early 40s has always stated that she is not looking for a husband and cannot be pressurized into marriage.

Bimbo Akintola : It is high time Nigerians start getting things right. As for criticisms, I ignore them so much

In an interview with Vanguard a while ago, she said, “I’m not looking for a husband and I don’t need one. I don’t need anything. I’m a complete person 

. I only do things that make me happy, because I believe and I understand the reality that there is just one life and you should live it to the maximum. Happiness and peace should be the key. 

I’m not searching for a husband, because the rumour that I’m searching for a husband has given me Wahala,- all kinds of people from left, right and centre, looking for me saying they want to marry me. 

Please, I’m using this opportunity to tell everybody, I am not looking for a husband!”.

Vanguard