A man eats a cookie with a camera-equipped special goggle develped by a Tokyo University professor. The equipment makes cookies bigger to help users’ diet. (AFP)

JAPAN: Goggles that trick the wearer into thinking the plain snack in their hand is a chocolate cookie, or make biscuits appear larger have been unveiled in Japan, offering hope to weak-willed dieters everywhere.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed devices that use computer wizardry and augmented reality to fool the senses and make users feel more satisfied with smaller – or less appealing – treats.

On one device goggle-mounted cameras send images to a computer, which magnifies the apparent size of the cookie in the image it displays to the wearer while keeping his hand the same size, making the snack appear larger than it actually is.

In experiments, volunteers consumed nearly 10 per cent less when the biscuits they were eating appeared 50 per cent bigger.

They ate 15 per cent more when cookies were manipulated to look two-thirds of their real size.

Professor Michitaka Hirose at the university’s graduate school of information science and technology said he was interested in how computers can be used to trick the human mind.

“How to fool various senses or how to build on them using computers is very important in the study of virtual reality,” he told AFP.

Hirose said standard virtual reality equipment that attempts to cater to complex senses like touch often results in bulky equipment.

But he said using one or more senses to fool the others was a way around this problem.

“Reality is in your mind,” he said.

In another project, Hirose’s team developed a “meta cookie”, where the headgear uses scent bottles and visual trickery to fool the wearer into thinking the snack they are eating is anything but a plain biscuit.

Users can set the device to their favourite taste so they think they are eating a chocolate or strawberry-flavoured cookie.

Hirose says experiments so far have shown 80 percent of subjects are fooled.

The team has no plans as yet to commercialise their invention, but would like to investigate whether people wanting to lose weight can use the device.

Read more: Emirates 24/7

by Hauwa Gambo

A source has just told CNN that an arrest has been made in the Boston Marathon bombings.

According to the network, “The arrest came after analysis of two separate videos of one of the two explosions, which killed three and injured more than 180 people.

“The arrest is based on two videos showing images of the suspect, a federal law enforcement source told CNN contributor Fran Townsend.”

However, according to the Twitter handle @Boston_Police, this is not true. “Despite reports to the contrary,” it says, “there has not been an arrest in the marathon attack.”

More details as they emerge.

Updates:

CNN has now reported that its earlier report is false. According to it’s live-blog:

• After law enforcement sources told CNN that an arrest was made in Boston Marathon bombings, two senior administration officials and another federal official told CNN contributor Fran Townsend that no arrest happened.

• The bombs, which exploded 12 seconds apart near Boston Marathon finish line Monday, killed three people and wounded 183.

• Full story here; also, see CNN affiliates WBZ; WCVB; WHDH

[Updated at 2:33 p.m. ET] There is conflicting information as to whether someone has been arrested in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings.

A federal law enforcement source told CNN’s Fran Townsend that someone was arrested. But two senior administration officials and another federal official then told Townsend that there had been a misunderstanding among officials and that no one has been arrested.

[Updated at 2:23 p.m. ET] As news of an arrest spreads, a crowd has been gathering outside a federal courthouse in Boston.

Photo: BBC

A stalwart of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Edo State, Patrick Akhimien, was on Wednesday attacked by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in Ekpoma. Action Congress of Nigeria in Edo State, Patrick Akhimien, was on Wednesday attacked by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in

The attackers killed Mr. Akhimien’s younger brother, police orderly and injured some other people at the scene.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Akhimien is an ACN stalwart in Illeh-Ekpoma in the Esan West Local Government Area of Edo.

Mr. Akhimien, who sustained gunshot injuries, was rushed to the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, also in the Esan Central Local Government Area of the state.

Witnesses told NAN that the politician, who drove in a motorcade, comprising a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a Toyota Sienna, was attacked on his way from Uromi, before the popular MopoL Junction in Ekpoma.

The sources said that the unidentified gunmen opened fire on the SUV conveying the politician, killing his younger brother who was driving the car and the police orderly.

The gunmen, thereafter, abducted Mr. Akhimien’s wife and two other women who were in the back-up vehicle, and exited towards Auchi in their Toyota Camry and Audi 80 saloon cars.

Some other persons at the scene of the attack also sustained gunshot injuries from sporadic shootings.

Remains of the deceased have been deposited at the morgue of the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, while Mr. Akhimien has been admitted at the accident and emergency ward of the hospital.

The Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ekpoma Division, Okpako Omuohowo, confirmed the incident, saying that investigation was going on.

Mr. Omuohowo, however, denied the killing of any police personnel during the attack and declined to give further details on the incident.

Read more: Premium Times

Well, it appears Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart really are back on.

After Pattinson spent months away from his girl while filming “The Rover” in Australia, the 26-year-old put his love for Stewart on display as the pair cozied up at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, Calif., over the weekend. The “Twilight” co-stars and real-life love birds held hands as they strolled through the crowds of peopleon April 13, proving that Stewart’s cheating scandal last summer is a thing of the past.

Stewart, who just celebrated her 23rd birthday on April 9, donned tiny black short shorts, a white t-shirt and a backwards baseball cap, while Pattinson looked relaxed in a teal shirt and jeans.

According to JustJared.com, the couple also met up with their pal Katy Perry on April 12 and watched Jurassic 5 perform.

Read more: Huffington Post

Tall, slender and beautiful, fashion models appear to have it all. But as these shocking images show, maintaining lovely looks can take a horrifying toll on health.

And at the Lenny show at Rio de Janeiro Fashion Week, the scale of the problem became clear, as models strutted down the runway with just skimpy bikinis to spare their blushes.

Proving that thin doesn’t mean healthy, one model’s buttocks seemed to be lacking in muscle tone – which some industry insiders say could be the result of skipping workouts and staying slim by eating very little.

Less than toned: A model on the Lenny Niemeyer catwalk during Rio de Janeiro Fashion Week was slender but lacked muscle tone in her buttocks and thighs

‘It’s no secret that a bad diet, little rest, no exercise, caffeine and smoking is not good for our bodies,’ adds Sheldon Stringer, personal trainer and owner of Urban Fitness Islington in London.

‘The main cause of cellulite is simple: a bad diet of fatty foods married with long periods of not eating and dehydration or lack of water intake.

‘In the case of these models, the stress of having to look their best, not eating to try and remain slim and working long hours with little or no rest, will result in cellulite build up as seen in these pictures.

‘Due to the lack of nourishment caused by their bad diets and their intense schedules, their muscle mass is compromised as their bodies are starving most of the time, which results in flabby or flat muscles.’

Slender: The Lenny show saw numerous very thin girls take to the catwalk

The new pictures come in the wake of revelations that models stay ‘Paris thin’ by eating tissues and outrage caused by River Island’s use of what seemed to be a size zero model in its latest campaign.

The tissue allegations appeared in the memoirs of veteran fashion journalist Kirstie Clements, who was sacked from her role as editor of Australian Vogue last May.

According to Clements, she once spent three days on a shoot with a model but didn’t see her eat a single meal.

By the end of the trip, said Clements, the model was so exhausted and weak from lack of food, she could barely keep her eyes open.

She also revealed that many starve themselves for days on end, endure regular stints on hospital drips and eat tissue paper in order to feel full.

‘You know how you read interviews where models insist that they eat a lot? Not true,’ added Clements.

‘The only way they can get that thin is to stop eating. They eat tissue paper to stave off the hunger pangs – literally ball it up and eat it.’

Read more: Mail Online

by Idoreyin Sampson

Governor of Enugu, Sullivan Chime is reported to have presented a wedding gift of a Range Rover to his new daughter-in-law, former Ms. Nneoma Atueyi who married his son, Nnamdi, on Saturday April 13th.

[READ: Gov. Sullivan Chime’s son, Nnamdi weds in Anambra (PHOTOS)]

See photo below with Nneoma and a friend and the car.

Congrats, once again, to the new couple.

Believing you have more sex than your neighbours is a crucial factor in making couples happy, according to new research. Here, five women — from the ages of 29 to 64 — reveal all about their sex lives to SADIE NICHOLAS. 

So who’s in the middle of a four-and-a-half-year intimacy drought and who had sex only last night? Their confessions may surprise you….

BUSY WORKING WIFE… The night before last

Gemma Daniels, 32, is a marketing manager and lives in Sheffield with husband Ryan, 31, who runs his own web design company, and their daughter Megan, six.

We might be parents to a young daughter, but my husband and I still have sex two or three times a week.

The last time was two nights ago in our bedroom. It was mutually initiated, starting out as a kiss and a cuddle under the covers, and lasted a good 30 minutes.

Even though it was late, we lay chatting for a while afterwards. I feel so close to Ryan after we’ve made love and find it breaks down any tension that may build up as a result of life’s daily stresses.

We met ten years ago and have been married for three. In the early days we were like most new couples, having sex as often as we could, more than once a day at times.

Inevitably, though, there have been a few lean patches along the way, usually at times of stress, such as moving house or if Ryan’s feeling the pressure of running a company.

Since 2009, I’ve also had an ectopic pregnancy and two miscarriages, each followed by a few months without sex while I recovered.

As soon as my bump started to show, when I was three months pregnant with Megan, Ryan didn’t want sex because he was worried about hurting me or the baby.

I thought: ‘That’s very sweet, but, come on — I need sex!’ He eventually relented, but took some persuading.

Then, after the birth, I suffered post-natal depression. To make it worse, during the pregnancy I’d eaten for two and gone up to 11st, which was far too heavy given that I’m only 4ft 11in. I didn’t like myself at all. Fortunately, Ryan was very understanding, and three months after having Megan, when I’d lost the weight, we tentatively started having sex again.

As parents, we have to grab chances to have sex when we can. We can’t just seize a moment of passion in the kitchen or on the sofa like we used to, although there was one occasion recently when we did end up making love on the stairs.

SINGLE GIRL ABOUT TOWN… Four-and-a-half years ago

Simmy Wilson, 29, is a music producer. She’s single and lives in London.

The next time I have sex will be on my wedding night. I’m not seeing anyone, and I’ve no idea if that wedding will ever happen, but until then I’m going to be celibate.

I’m not doing this for religious or moral reasons, but I want to abstain from sex to protect my very bruised and fragile heart.

I only wish I could go back in time and erase my last sexual encounter: it was in December 2008 with a man who promised me the world, then dumped me as soon as we’d slept together.

On our fifth date, we went out for dinner in Manchester. There was so much chemistry fizzing between us that, caught up in the moment, we booked into a posh hotel for the night where we had sex and lay talking till dawn.

When he kissed me goodbye, I yearned for our next night together. But when we spoke on the phone later that day, he mocked me for being keen to see him.

After that, he became increasingly difficult to get hold of. Then he stopped returning my calls.

I felt humiliated, hurt and furious. Obviously, all those sugary words were just bluster to get me into bed.

Rather than be duped again, I vowed that the next man I would have sex with would be someone who loves and respects me enough to make me his wife.

Believe me, I’m no prude, nor am I particularly religious: I lost my virginity aged 18 to my first boyfriend after we had been together several months.

I’ve had eight sexual partners and every one of them — my longest relationship lasted three years — broke my heart.

I think sex itself is overrated, but giving it up hasn’t been easy because I miss the cuddles, kisses and emotional intimacy that accompany it.

Being an attractive woman has only added to the challenge because I do get a lot of male attention.

But although I’ve been on dates with men in the past four years, once I tell them my intention to wait till I get married to have sex again, I don’t see them for dust. One man in particular was lovely but grew tired of waiting.

Sometimes I question whether I’ll meet anyone with this level of patience and commitment, but I won’t have sex again until I have.

GLAM MID-LIFE DIVORCEE… Four years ago

Trisha Moss, 59, is a PA to a company managing director and lives in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. She is divorced with two daughters, aged 36 and 34.

Oh, what fond memories I have of the last time I made love — one balmy evening in spring 2009 at my home on the Algarve, where I’d lived for 30 years. My lover was a gorgeous American businessman.

We’d met several times at the golf course where I worked as PA to the managing director. On the third occasion, as the chemistry buzzed between us, he invited me to dinner. We ate under the stars at a romantic restaurant on the beach, then went back to my house.

We slept together several times over the coming months, whenever he was in Portugal, but I knew when we made love that final time four years ago that, sadly, it would probably be goodbye. My move back to the UK was imminent, making our paths unlikely to cross again. What I didn’t imagine is that my sex life would cease altogether.

Since losing my virginity at 14, I’ve had 50 sexual partners, four of them before I met my husband, a property developer, whom I married in 1974.

Five years later, we moved to Portugal, bought a ramshackle farmhouse and renovated it.

Sadly, my marriage broke down when our daughters were very young. After a traumatic birth with my first baby, sex became incredibly painful. It was the beginning of the end.

Several months after we separated in my late 20s, I started dating again, rediscovered the pleasure of sex and never wanted for male attention.

There were men I slept with once or twice — and others I could have slept with but turned down — plus several long-term relationships lasting between two and six years and a mischievous fling with a British man 17 years my junior. My daughters were at boarding school in England, so I was able to ensure they were never exposed to the brief sexual encounters I enjoyed between my long-term relationships.

Now I’m almost 60, my priorities have shifted, and I’d dearly love to settle down for good with one special man.

I don’t miss the sex for its own sake any more, despite having a high libido. Giving up sex is like quitting sugar: once you get over the initial craving, you learn to live without it.

TIRED MOTHER OF TWO… Two weeks ago

Vanessa Powell, 43, is a part-time receptionist in the leisure industry and lives in Croydon, South London, with husband Stacey, 37, an architect, and their daughters Jessica, ten, and Violet, seven.

This winter, our sex life has dwindled to once a month. Recently, I’ve just been too cold to think about making love.

Ours is definitely a seasonal sex life — the minute the sun shines and the air warms up, I feel instantly sexier.

We last had sex two weeks ago, initiated by my husband Stacey in the bedroom, which is where it tends to happen since the kids have got older.

It’s a far cry from making love under the stars in the Caribbean Sea as we did on honeymoon in Jamaica a decade ago. But we still try to make the most of occasional nights a deux in classy hotels, so sex feels more special.

When we last had sex it would have been all too easy to snuggle down under the duvet and reject Stacey’s advances. But I’m aware how important sex is for emotional intimacy in a marriage, too — we always cuddle and chat afterwards. Often the thought of it is more exhausting than the act itself, and I really enjoy it once I’ve made the effort.

Losing my virginity at 21 with my first proper boyfriend made me quite a late starter in the sex stakes. One-night stands were never my thing, and I had several relationships — each lasting a year or two — before I met Stacey when I was 32.

Within two years we’d got married and had our first daughter.

When I became pregnant, I was so scared sex would damage the baby that I avoided it for the first trimester — the longest Stacey and I have ever gone without. Even though my husband loved my bigger pregnancy boobs and curves, there weren’t many occasions over the next six months when I was in the mood.

Friends warned that having kids would sound the death knell for our sex life. But I got my figure and self-confidence back quite quickly after the birth, and made it a priority to resume our sex life within a few months.

Whatever your circumstances, you have to find ways to make it work.

Stacey prefers sex to be spontaneous, like it was when we met. But 11 years and two children later, a certain amount of planning is required — not least waiting till the kids are in bed.

Through any barren patches, such as this winter, we remain tactile, frequently sharing kisses and cuddles.

I’ve reassured Stacey that now it seems spring is finally in the offing, romance will well and truly be back on the cards. He has cheered up already!

SINGLE GRANNY AGED 64… yesterday afternoon

Diana Banks, 64, is a retired Marie Curie nurse and now works as a personal trainer and dating columnist for over-50s website ffifty.com. She lives near Bedford and is divorced with three children, aged 39, 34 and 32, and one grandchild, aged ten months.

Yesterday morning, I slipped into some gorgeous lingerie and my favourite pair of figure-flattering leather trousers, ready for a lunch date with a lovely man nine years my junior. We met on a dating site a month ago and have spent hours chatting on the phone between our four previous dates.

He arrived to take me to lunch bearing a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers, and as the mutual attraction and conversation gathered pace during our date, it felt natural to invite him back for coffee afterwards. One thing led to another and we ended up making love for the first time.

It was fun, electrically charged, and romantic. We spoke of our hopes that this may lead to a lasting relationship and reluctantly kissed one another goodbye in the early evening as I’d arranged to meet friends to go dancing.

I’ve had more sex in the past decade than I did in my happy but virtually sexless 30-year marriage, which ended 11 years ago. In fact, I’ve only properly discovered sex since then — and I told my ex-husband this when I saw him last year when we met up for a coffee and a catch-up.

There have been periods in the past ten years when I’ve been in a relationship and had sex two or three times a day.

Divorce turned out to be a blessing, because my life since has been about making me happy — and that includes in the bedroom.

My sex life died the moment I got married when I was 22 and my husband was just 20. He said that although he loved me, he didn’t fancy me. We had sex only half a dozen times a year.

Getting back on the dating scene was the most frightening experience of my life. I needed six months of counselling with Relate to address my low self-esteem before joining a dating site a year after my marriage ended.

When I finally slept with the third man I dated, the prospect of revealing my fiftysomething body was utterly terrifying. But I needn’t have worried. Here was a man four years younger who was as concerned with pleasing me as he was with his own sexual needs. It was a revelation!

I have rules, though: I don’t date men more than ten years my junior and I don’t do one-night stands, although I have had a ‘friend with benefits’ with whom I last had sex eight weeks ago.

We met through our dance class in 2010, flirted outrageously and ended up in bed together during a dance weekend away in Southport 18 months ago.

As we lay there laughing like teenagers afterwards, we agreed it had been great fun and have had around half a dozen sexual encounters since, both of us knowing that we don’t have enough in common for a relationship.

But in my new beau, I’m full of anticipation that I’ve found a man with whom I’ll be able to share much more than tantalising sexual chemistry.

Read more: Mail Online

A disturbing video of three teenaged girls twerking and giving one another lap dances at a church surfaced on Facebook Monday night. The disturbing two-minute video, posted on TonyaTkoShow Facebook fanpage, shows the young girls gyrating on the floor, on the pews, and then on one another. The video instantly sparked intense debate among commenters about how the girls should be punished — with many of the commenters calling for the same gruesome whooping that two teens received that landed their father in jail after he punished the girls for making a similar video.

As the video opens, the twerking music is heard in the background with the videographer (having the voice of a young girl) saying, “Y’all twerking at church.” Another  teen is heard asking her peers, “[Are] you putting that on Facebook?” The videographer exclaims, “You should!” As one of the girls gyrates on her peer, the videographer is heard saying, “She [is] a ‘lil nasty girl,” as she chuckles. The videographer then summons Shaneka to the floor and tells her “Go ‘head chic. Go ‘head twerk somethin’ for us.” The girls giggle as Shaneka struggles to twerk. The video clip becomes more disturbing throughout as the teens gyrate on top of each other.

Teens’ obsession with twerking on film for mass distribution online is probably becoming a gold mine for pedophiles, placing the children’s lives in danger. This is not the first time a twerking video has gone viral. Earlier this year, a short video clip of a visibly young boy twerking, surfaced on the Twerkers Gone Wild Facebook fanpage. The video, titled “Wheres This Kid Father?” has acquired 24,800+ comments, 54,500+ shares, and 19,700+ comments. The video sparked the ongoing debate about whether or not there is a hidden agenda to make African-American men effeminate.

This is our last best hope. There is nothing else to do. Thank you and God bless this convention and God Bless Nigeria.

- The full text of the  speech delivered by the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the party convention which took place at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos, on April 18, 2013.

Department store Debenhams has broken the fashion mould by casting a diverse range of models for its summer 2013 campaign.

The High Summer Look Book uses ‘real’ men and women, including a plus-size model, a 69-year-old and an amputee.

“To showcase the range of sizes and labels at Debenhams this season, we chose models to inspire us with their own unique looks and personalities,” said fashion commentator Caryn Franklin, who worked on the project with Debenhams.

“I loved seeing the way that clothes emboldened each woman and man and being on a shoot where no two models were the same,” she said in a statement.

“I never underestimate the power of great clothes to bolster self-esteem, or the impact of imagery that celebrates difference.”

The campaign is not the first time Debenhams has championed healthy body image ideals. In 2010 the store banned airbrushing in a swimsuit campaign and included a wheelchair user in a shoot for Principles.

“Our customers are not the same shape or size so our latest look book celebrates this diversity,” said Ed Watson, director of PR at Debenhams.

“Hopefully these shots will be a step, albeit a small one, towards more people feeling more comfortable about their bodies.”

“Any move by a major brand to recognise the need for diversity in the images they put out is undoubtedly a positive one,” Rivkie Baum, editor of plus-size magazine SLINK, told HuffPost UK Lifestyle.

“Even in 2013 it is seen as a risk to use models who deviate from the fashion industry norm — 5ft 9″ and a size 6/8. I hope it inspires other retailers to start pushing boundaries a little more.”

The look book features:

• Alternative model, Kelly, born without her left forearm and discovered when she won TV show ‘Missing Next Top Model’.
• Paralympian amputee Stefanie Reid makes her modelling debut for Debenhams in the campaign.
• Jada, size 18 model and face of the recent Plus Size Fashion Week.
• Tess, a size six petite model, measuring in at just over five foot tall.
• Valarie, 69 and Maxine, 44, highlighting looking great isn’t anything to do with age
• Philomena, a size 18 model, who wants to be Britain’s first black plus size supermodel.
• Hugo 47
• Six foot four Lucio

Jo Swinson, HuffPost UK blogger and minister for Women and Equalities, said in a statement: “Once again Debenhams is showing that beauty comes in all forms – different skin colours, ages, body shapes and sizes. It was one of the first to introduce size 16 mannequins, and continues to send a clear message to the rest of the retail industry that many customers want to see more diverse and realistic images.”

Read more: Huffington Post

A first grade teacher named J. Blaof Northwest Preparatory Academy Charter School in Humble, TX, is attempting to use the fact she’s a self-appointed racist as her defense against accusations of a African American child claiming to have been fσndled in the classroom on March 1.

According to the 7 year old African American girl that claims to have been fondled by Stokes, all of the other children were asked to leave the classroom and the teacher reportedly began to touch the student on the outside of her clothes on her “private area”.

Prosecutors report that Stokes failed a polygraph test that was administered following the incident and Stokes still vehemently denied the accusations. The reasoning behind this is quite disturbing. Stokes claims that she could not have touched the child because of her prejudice beliefs. According to RawStory.com, her complaint stated that she ‘doesn’t like black students because she was prejudiced’ and ‘has little to no interaction’ with her accuser. The girl also told police that she asked the teacher to stop touching her and was made to stand out in the hall without any lunch — but Stokes also denied that.

Detective J. Blanchard made comments about Stokes’ racist behavior, “She doesn’t like to even touch the black children on their hand, she shies away when they try to hug her — she admitted to being prejudiced.”

Stokes’ Attorney Patty Maginnis was quick to try and pull her client out of hot water for her comments. Maginnis released a statement saying that any comments of a racist nature that were made by her client are “not proof that any crime has been committed. I would consider that just a personal opinion. The facts of the case will determine that she is innocent.”

Stokes was fired from her position as a teacher on Tuesday and the charter holder Miracle Educational Systems released a statement regarding the incident, “The employee involved was immediately placed on administrative leave as soon as the complaint was received, and the matter was investigated,” it read. “As a result of the Academy’s investigation, the staff member in question has been terminated.”

Stokes is currently free on a $10,000 dollar bond and is waiting to stand trial on May 21.

Read more: YourBlackWorld

AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program. Africa’s most populous nation,
Nigeria, is full of promise. But fulfilling that promise is sometimes a
struggle. Plagued by corruption and mismanagement, the resource-rich
country has a poverty rate of over 50 percent. Maternal mortality is
shockingly high. And more than half of Nigerians don’t have access to
electricity.

Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, can’t even escape the power
problem himself. Here he is on Easter Sunday, delivering a speech to his
people only to have it disrupted by a blackout. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says
that she and her president want more for the country. She’s Nigeria’s
finance minister and she’s been lauded as just the kind of reformer that
Nigeria needs. She was a runner-up to lead the World Bank and “Forbes”
ranked her as one of the world’s most powerful women.

But even she isn’t immune from Nigeria’s problems. Her own mother was
kidnapped for a terrifying five days before being released.

I spoke to her and I asked her about her country’s uphill struggle to
transform Nigeria’s resources into a better life for all the people. We
talked when she was here in New York for the Women in the World Summit.
And as you watch, we look forward to your tweets using #amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, welcome to the program.

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, NIGERIAN FINANCE MINISTER: Thank you for having me.

AMANPOUR: Great to have you.

OKONJO-IWEALA: Thank you.

AMANPOUR: Nigeria is a huge and important country. We have many, many
viewers from Nigeria, always very active and very interested. So it’s
great to have you here.

OKONJO-IWEALA: Thank you.

AMANPOUR: You have said and others have said, that 2013 is going to be a
real game-changing year, a turning point year for Nigeria, particularly in
your area of finance and economics.

How?

OKONJO-IWEALA: Well, it’s going to be a game-changer and a turning point,
because this is the year we are going to produce results. And we’re
already producing results within the administration.

First, on the economic side, I just want to say that macroeconomic
stability has been restored. Now, nobody should minimize that. Remember,
there were two lost decades in Africa, in the ’80s and ’90s, where there
was so much macro instability that people could not even focus on sectors
that could create jobs.

Now things have gone right. We’ve got growth that is at 6.5 percent last
year and we’re projecting for 2013, also, around the same number compared
to average 5 percent on the African continent.

Now, I just want to say that when you mention GDP growth, people
immediately say we can — in my country, they say we can’t eat growth;
because we have unemployment challenges, we need to create more jobs. We
have a challenge of inclusion. We have problems of inequality.

All those are challenges we face.

AMANPOUR: You are obviously a passionate defender of your country. You are a person who calls for transparency and honesty and best practices.

There is a huge problem with corruption in your country. The president
promised to address this stuff. And the latest is that an ally of his, a
former governor who was convicted of stealing millions of dollars, has
been pardoned, embezzling $55 million in public funds.

Now, the U.S. calls that a setback for the fight against corruption.

I mean how do you answer that?

OKONJO-IWEALA: How do I answer that question?

OK, listen to what I have to say on corruption. And I think I have quite a
bit to say. I wrote a book recently where I also had a whole chapter on
that issue called, “Reforming the Unreformable.”

Nigeria does have a problem with corruption. And so do many other
countries, including developed countries. I don’t like the fact that when
people mention the name Nigeria, the next thing they say is corruption.

This is a country of 170 million people; 99.9 percent of them are honest,
hard-working citizens who just want to get on with their lives and they
want a government that delivers for them.

What we’ve said is that in order to help block any leakages and help to,
you know, stop any attempts at corruption or taking monies, we must build
electronic platforms. We must distance people from the money.

These things were recommended by the World Bank and the IMF. I used to
work at the World Bank. We are doing them.

And I strongly believe that we lack institutions. We lack processes.

Now, what President Goodluck Jonathan has done now is to call the
judiciary, the legislature and the executive arm for the first time to
meet together on this issue and say, this is not just about government,
this is about all of us coming together, because even if you catch
somebody, they go to the courts and they are let off lightly.

The president can’t do anything about that. The judicial system also has
to be strengthened.

Legislators also have to crack down. They themselves have to work at also
being transparent and helping the executive.

But for me, also, in addition to doing that, we need to stop talking and
identify the specifics, like you mentioned oil leakages. Let me mention
two things quickly.

The first one is the oil theft that is 150,000 barrels a day –

AMANPOUR: Which is huge.

OKONJO-IWEALA: — a month — which is huge. Yes. I admit that. And we
can’t afford — I’ll tell you; my thesis on corruption is we are still a
poor country. We cannot afford any leakage.

We also need the international community to weigh in. We have — Mexico
and Nigeria are suffering from this problem, you can check. Mexico has
(inaudible) losing 25,000 barrels a day. And they found (inaudible).

In our case, we have international people who also buy that stolen oil. We
need them to treat this stolen oil like stolen diamonds, the blood
diamonds. Make it blood oil. Help us so that those people don’t have a
market to sell this stuff.

That’s one. And we ourselves should commit to fighting — and we are
fighting that.

AMANPOUR: Let me ask you about that, because you also have challenges with
electricity. You mentioned you’re very rich in oil and people just simply
don’t understand why there still seem to be so many problems with
electricity.

And it might seem, you know, weird to pick on that one thing, but it is
very prevalent. I asked your president about this during an interview I
did by satellite when he was at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Let’s just see what he had to say to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOODLUCK JONATHAN, PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA: That is one area that Nigerians
are quite pleased with the government, that’s a commitment to improve
power. It’s working. So if you are saying something different, I’m really
surprised. That is one area,      one area that we will — civil
society members agree that government has kept faith with its promise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Now, that interview caused a bit of a hullabaloo, as I think you
know, in Nigeria. And yet, the World Bank has said that half — more than
half the Nigerian population doesn’t have any access to the power grid.

OKONJO-IWEALA: As you know, Nigeria became a democracy again when
President Obasanjo came into power in 1999. Two decades prior to that,
there was hardly any investment in electricity.

If you’ve neglected a sector for that long, you’ve not invested, you’ve
not even maintained your basic facilities, it’s not going to happen that
fast. It takes time.

That month, when you interviewed the president, the polls showed,
independently, scientifically (inaudible) that they are in technical
partnership with dialogue. That 54 percent of Nigerians felt there was
some improvement. They do it monthly.

Now this month, they’ve surveyed and they’ve showed this going down,
because 800 megawatts has been taken off the grid, which is while they are
maintaining the grid.

AMANPOUR: Well, let me ask you, because businesses apparently say that
this problem with electricity is causing them to, you know, be reluctant
to invest.

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: They need this investment…

OKONJO-IWEALA: Nigeria is not the only country. Almost every developing
country has a problem with power, as you know. India has it. South Africa
has it. South Africa is far better off because they’ve invested much more.

But many developing countries, even China, they are struggling with
keeping up with infrastructure.

Now, what we are doing in Nigeria?

We have accepted that the government is not the best place to run the
power sector, that if we want this country and this economy to do better,
we just have to get out. And Nigeria is pursuing one of the most sweeping
privatization programs in any country in the world.

We are selling off everything. The generation capacity, the distribution
capacity in the country, government is only retaining one thing –
transmission.

AMANPOUR: Well, on that note, Madam Minister, thank you for joining me.

OKONJO-IWEALA: Thank you, Christiane, for having me.

Watch video below:

by Cheta Nwanze

Baba Suwe must have a lot of faith to still go back to the same judiciary which has proven time and again, that it has no bite to support its bark.

Imagine being deprived of your liberty, for three weeks, and in those three weeks, being made to do your business in the public eye, being subjected to ridicule by a lot of lazy hacks, including this writer, and in the end, failing to expel the contraband you were accused of harbouring within your system. Of course the normal reaction would be to sue the chaps who by their carelessness, or worse, possible maliciousness, brought all of that humiliation on you. As things then stand, you win the case, and are awarded a cool N25 millions by a court of law. Then the court order is disobeyed. Baba Suwe must have a lot of faith to still go back to the same judiciary which has proven time and again, that it has no bite to support its bark.

Faith, is something that many people in these parts do not have in the men-in-black. That is probably the reason that not-a-few people want Alaye boys involved in the rescue of Kehinde Bamigbetan, the Ejigbo LCDA fila, who was whisked away to parts unknown four days ago now. Problem is, the men-in-black themselves, claim that they don’t need help. “Let me assure you that police are on top of the situation and efforts are on to ensure his immediate release. There will be proper briefing after his release,” shrilled a Lagos men-in-black parrot, Ozoani Damasus, culling from that worn out phrase book we are sick of reading. Damasus went further to add, “OPC is a banned organisation and it remains banned.” To that one, I can only say, “you could have fooled me”, then inquire about when to pay my next OPC dues.

Speaking of people fooling people, less than three weeks after letting the cat out of the bag regarding NECO and JAMB, the cat has not only been caught, it has been quite firmly plugged back into the bag, and the bag apparently tied up. Yesterday, the Junior Minister for Education told his future colleagues that the “White Paper Committee set up to review the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye Committee was still working”. So the advice to y’all lazy students out there, cram more. While of course, our recurrent expenditure balloons beyond its already unreasonable proportions because as things stand, well, every hamlet in Nigeria will soon be a state in order to remove any feeling of ‘marginalisation’. That way, every hamlet will have a federal minister (our Constitution demands it), who will each have a retinue of PAs, SAs, SSAs, und zo weiter…

Bits and bobs

The new Armoured Personnel Carrier is now official. What I find most significant though was that General Buhari attended the metamorphosis of the ACN into the APC. To me, that means that his CPC will definitely b joining up. This coming the day after he said, “Yes I will run in 2015″, means that I will jump the gun and declare General Buhari as the APC’s Presidential Candidate in 2015.

Another committee member has weighed his options, and decided that it is best not to offend #BokoHaram. Personally, I remember Datti Ahmed as the chap who back in 2003 said that the polio vaccine was meant to render Muslim women infertile, or something along those lines. Ten years later, and Nigeria is one of only three countries in the world where this otherwise eradicated disease is still endemic. The other two, Afghanistan and Pakistan. To think that this chap is still a “Doctor”…

No Future Ambition babariga has strengthened our win-at-all-costs mentality in “age grade” football by knocking our ‘teenagers’ after they failed to beat their sons from the Ivory Coast. “You must win against Congo,” Maigari told the Eaglets, conveniently forgetting that age-grade football is not for winning, but for developing talent.

Right of reply

Folade wrote,

Comments like the one attributed to Lai Mohammed on Mr President’s passage through Lagos are the kind of indicators that heighten my fears that the “armored personnel carrier” is not the “breath of fresh air” we envisage.

GEJ might be a clod, but let’s not forget that he remains the C-in-C(maybe not in action,but definitely in law and fact). How does a citizen of a free State presume to tell the C-in-C where he may or may not go?Worse still, how does that citizen go ahead to threaten “consequences” if the C-in-C ventures into a region that is under his domain? 

Must we ruffle feathers THAT recklessly in the name of politics?

Kalu Aja wrote, 

We have no opositipn in Nigeria just opportunist. 

I see Obama land on Airforce One in red Texas to campaign and Rick Perry of the GOP is there to greet him.  Its not the person but the office. 

When GEJ went to Eko Atlantic City why didn’t they stop him?

Very disappointing from ACN

Olamide Akanbi wrote (in reply to Tosin from yesterday),

Hello, Tosin, I suppose there is a mix up. I was actually referring to Chxta’s trivializing of Dino’s assertion of an attempt on his life and not on the kidnap story. 

Victor Osibe wrote (in response to Kalu Aja),

In response to wot kalu aja said dat d best way to milk People is by opening a church. Am telling any body dat wants to try it d consequences of it is dis: D wrought of God will be on d fellow. So don’t go der @ all. 

Chxta responds to Victor,

Bros, there are a lot of churches in Nigeria that were set up specifically to milk people. So far, there’s been no pestilence…

————————–

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

by Chi Ibe

NFL free agent, Kerry Rhodes has denied he’s gay. Pictures of him being very affectionate with his former assistant, Russell Simpson was released online sparking rumours but Rhodes insisted he was not a homosexual even though he has nothing against it.

He told TMZ:

“Photos have been circulating of my former  assistant and I that have caused some rumours regarding my sexuality, and I want to address the situation. I am not gay. I know a lot of people are recently talking about  athletes struggling to come out to their fans right now, and I support  them, as well as wish those individuals comfort.”

“I am not gay. The shots were taken during a past vacation in a casual environment with my entire business team.”

But the man in the picture with Rhodes has a different story to tell. Simpson said he wasn’t the one who leaked the photos to the press but admitted they had something going.

He was recently quoted as saying:

“I met Kerry about a year and a half ago when I went to Arizona for an assistant job,” Simpson told Baller Alert.

“…I got to know Kerry and we became very close. I moved in with Kerry at his home in Arizona. At first we were just friends and we were getting to know each other. Then we got into a relationship. We were in a relationship for a whole year. I was there, people knew who I was, they saw me as his top assistant. I handled everything for him. No one went to Kerry for anything.”

Russell told Baller Alert: “They said, well maybe he loved him like a little brother. Listen, if he loved me like a little brother, he f**ked me like a wife!”

Check out excerpts of the interview here:

How he met Kerry

“I met Kerry about a year and a half ago when I went to Arizona for an  assistant job. Me and my friend Alton went to Kerry’s game. Kerry was  injured at the time so he came up to our suite. He was interested in  knowing who I was. He was looking for a new assistant and was interested in me and Alton. He wanted us to assist him.”

“I got to know Kerry and we became very close. I moved in with Kerry at  his home in Arizona. At first we were just friends and we were getting  to know each other. Then we got into a relationship. We were in a  relationship for a whole year. I was there, people knew who I was, they  saw me as his top assistant. I handled everything for him. No one went  to Kerry for anything.”

On who initiated the relationship

“Of course he came on to me. I’m too fabulous to come on to anybody.  That’s not what I do. I have a lot of men that come on to me. I don’t  come on to men because I don’t know what time it is for you. I would  never come on to a man. Honestly, a lot of gay guys are like me. A lot  of gay guys don’t come on to guys. It’s always the other way around.  It’s always the manly ones. Of course I wouldn’t come on to anybody.  Yes, I thought he was attractive but I thought he liked girls.”

“It did not take place instantly. I’m a classy b*tch. You have to show  me what time it is and he did. I was with it. It took us almost two  months to sleep together. He made the first move — as in kissing. Kerry says I was his first man he’s been with. Doesn’t matter, it still makes you gay.”

On the leaked pictures:

“They said ‘Well maybe he loved him like a little brother. Listen, if he loved me like a little brother, he f**ked me like a wife!” and  that’s just me being real with you. People knew something was up but  they didn’t know. It was just not normal for a guy to be like we were.  You can see in the picture. A picture says a lot of things. You could  see in the pictures that it was something there. The first set of  pictures, I don’t know how they got out because I did not put them out.  If you go on my Facebook page you will see the same pictures but I  always crop him out because it was nobody’s business. Now what pissed me off about the whole situation is when he and I stopped talking and the  pics got out. He said that he was NOT gay. To me he shouldn’t have said  sh**. If you’re not going to tell the truth, don’t try to make me look  stupid. This is what I say: You can play Nintendo, You play XBox , You play lottery, You Don’t Play Hollywood! I think he made a comment  that he’s as straight as an arm. An arm has an elbow dummy! What really  set me off is when he had Alton the assistant call TMZ,  say he was Me  and say Kerry and I are just friends, he’s like my brother.”

On financial gain:

“We went on a lot of trips, out of the country, Hawaii, whatever.

“He loved me so much that he did spend a lot of money. He definitely took care of me.”

“Kerry did do a lot for me. He bought me a lot of things. He bought me  the new Infiniti truck. I’m the type of person, if you buy me something, you’re putting it in MY name. If you’re buying me something you’re  paying it off. He definitely did the TWO things. You’re not going to buy me nothing and it still be in your name because then it’s your car.  You’re not going to buy me nothing and leave me with the payments. I  don’t think so!”

by Isi Esene

Three people, a man and two women, were arrested by the police in Imo state for allegedly stealing two 3-day old babies.

Watch the ChannelsTV video below:

by Hauwa Gambo

One of Nigeria’s entertainment news authorities has come under attack by “internet terrorists”, it appears. Below, an urgent message from the publisher of the paper and website, Ayeni Adekunle:

Greetings,

Yesterday, our primary domain www.thenetng.com was compromised by internet hackers, who criminally gained access to our servers and illegally took possession of our identity.

We are convinced this is a calculated attack by detractors to unsettle and distract us, knowing our third anniversary (April 26) is just around the corner, as well as the inaugural Nigerian Entertainment Conference holding next Friday.

This incident occurred in the early morning of Thursday April 18, and the hijackers immediately followed up with an email, announcing their operation and demanding $1,200 ransom to reclaim our property. They have since sent other emails, and made fresh requests, which we are reviewing with our lawyers, registrars and IT team.

It is the first time since we registered the domain in 2009, that such security breach would occur. And even though we considered our readers, advertisers and partners, our management took a firm decision not to engage with the criminals.

After careful considerations, we decided yesterday, that we will not be negotiating with the hijackers, that we will not bow to these cheap internet terrorists.

And we will definitely not be paying the requested ransom money ($900 as at their last email).

Not only would doing otherwise set a wrong precedent for our growing industry, it would absolutely contradict everything this newspaper stands for.

We decided instead, to work with our registrar,  our in –house IT team,  and consultants to legitimately reclaim our domain, while setting up a new destination – www.thenetng.net as our home until this is resolved. We are aware this may take some time, but it is a sacrifice we are willing to make.

As you read this, all our other domains, including  .net, .info. .tv, .org, .com.ng are up and running, with our full database and all feeds intact.

We thank our friends and partners, especially media colleagues for the calls and support, as well as the many readers here and abroad for their patience during this time.

Please enjoy our content on www.thenetng.net, and tell your friends of our new but temporary home.

All those interested in registering or finding out about the Nigerian Entertainment Conferenceholding on Friday April 26, can email their details to nec@thenetng.com.

Thanks for your time. Thanks for your understanding.

Ayeni Adekunle
Publisher

Still going strong, people.

by Akan Ido

The State Security Service (SSS) on Friday arraigned an alleged Boko Haram suspect, Kabiru Umar aka Kabiru Sokoto, at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Umar was arraigned in connection with the Christmas Day bombing of the St.Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla in Niger State in 2011.

The two count-charge attracts life sentence, but the accused pleaded not guilty.

The hearing in the case has been adjourned to between May 2 and May 9

Wife and daughter

[Photos: H/T SaharaReporters]

by Susan Walsh

If you want a man to commit to you, you must be someone who is worthy of commitment. If he takes himself off the market, he is sacrificing the potential (or reality) of sexual variety.

In the past I’ve said that when you want a relationship, you have to pursue that goal like it’s your job. Thinking about it more, I don’t think relationship status is the right goal. It’s not an objective with measurable, incremental steps, so it’s impossible to gauge whether you’re any closer to your goal from one month or year to the next. So many factors affect the outcome, some of which are out of your control. Your age, your social environment, your work environment, even the economy can have a large effect.

Of course, there are several factors that are within your direct control, and that’s where you should focus your strategy. What are your expectations? Are you selecting the most relationship-worthy men? Do you take the initiative to actively communicate your  interest to guys you like, via flirting or attentiveness? All of this is an important part of paving the way to a meaningful relationship, but your results will be only as good as you are. 

What do you have to offer? If you want a man to commit to you, you must be someone who is worthy of commitment. If he takes himself off the market, he is sacrificing the potential (or reality) of sexual variety. The harder you work on becoming an attractive and interesting person of good character, the better your chances of getting an excellent man to commit to you.

Be Attractive

You were born with a set of physical traits. That’s your basic canvas, and there is much you can do to brighten and enhance your appearance. Female beauty is really the array of fertility cues that men seek in a mate. They signal a woman’s reproductive capacity.  A female mate’s attractiveness also has the potential to increase a male’s status among other males. According to evolutionary psychologists, here is what men look for when evaluating a woman’s attractiveness:

1. Youth (2.5 years younger is the age difference most preferred by males.)
2. Full lips
3. Clear, smooth skin
4. Clear eyes
5. Lustrous hair (much easier to assess when hair is long)
6. Good muscle tone
7. Body type: This varies by culture to some extent, but the ratio of waist size to hip size is one preference that is invariant.  Healthy, reproductive women have a ratio between .67 and .80.  The ratio is also an accurate indication of long-term health status.

There are also behavioral cues to youth and health that males prefer:

1. Bouncy, youthful gait
2. Animated facial expression
3. High energy level

Together, these traits comprise the ingredients of male standards for female beauty. Makeup, grooming and clothing are all designed to enhance male perception of these traits. Clownish, excessive makeup or immodest clothing detract from the male perception that a woman is a good long-term partner. Use only as much enhancement as you need to maximize your natural attributes.

Be a Person of Good Character

First and foremost, when seeking a long-term partner, be aware of the prevalence and immutability of the sexual double standard:

With the concealed ovulation of humans, men who married benefited by having greater reassurance of paternity.  Before marrying men would need to feel assured that his wife would remain sexually faithful.  Two preferences in a mate that could predict her faithfulness were premarital chastity and the quest for postmarital sexual loyalty.  For this reason, “faithfulness and sexual loyalty” is the number one desirability trait (of 67) that American men prioritize for commitment. (Buss, 1994)

In other words, don’t be a slut. It dramatically reduces the number of guys who will consider you relationship material, much less marriage material.

In addition, all of us seek partners who are companionable. Here are the traits males generally seek in females when contemplating commitment (in no particular order):

• Charm
• Athleticism
• Education
• Generosity
• Honesty
• Independence
• Kindness
• Intellectuality
• Loyalty
• Sense of humor
• Sociability
• Wealth
• Responsibility
• Spontaneity
• Cooperativeness
• Emotional stability

Please note that the following traits are not on the list:

• Hard to get
• Narcissism
• Vanity
• Unreliability
• Unpredictability
• Loves to shop
• Spendthrift
• Greed
• Impatience
• Inspires jealousy
• Sarcastic
• Volatile
• Fickle
• Boastful
• Alcoholic
• Attention seeker
• Reality show addict

Know and Develop Your Purpose(s) in Life

This is something that is often overlooked. It speaks to Dogsquat’s comment about women who have a mission outside their relationship. You may be super passionate about one thing. If you are, you’re lucky. I always have had a bunch of different things I wanted to do and explore, which led to a lot of dabbling and perhaps less achievement. That doesn’t matter. It’s not about achievement in the world – men don’t care much about that when selecting a mate. (Of course, you might, which is fine, just know that it is not a male attraction cue.)

What’s important is how you feel about yourself, and whether that opinion is justified, or just narcissism. If you are truly worthy of your own respect, others will share it too.

We live in a time when Americans are raised to work extremely long hours, take minimal time off and juggle the responsibilities of work and family. It’s easy to lose one’s sense of purpose and growth, and with it all the curiosity that makes you a person who’s open to learning and engaging with the world around you.

I’m guilty of this myself. I used to be a real news junkie. I read several newspapers, always listened to NPR in the car, always watched CNN at the gym, and sat down for the evening news before starting dinner each night. Around a year ago, feeling pressured for time, I decided to give it up. No more news. I listened to books on tape in the car and at the gym. I took to having my morning coffee while checking blog comments. I delayed starting dinner till 7, working through the extra hour.

For quite a while, I could get by in conversations with my husband, friends and acquaintances, just going on the base of knowledge I’d already built up. Increasingly, I needed to use my husband as my source of news – rather than discuss things with him, I needed for him to tell me what was happening in the world. Finally, I became ignorant about almost everything.

Alito…Obamacare….June decision, What?

Trayvon Martin, Who?

I now find myself almost completely unable to converse intelligently about what’s happening in the world. During family dinners I am relegated to silence. My kids ask if anything is wrong. How could I let this happen? I’m boring!

This is just one small example, and easy to remedy – I can probably get up to speed in a couple of weeks of reading the paper. But it’s an illustration of how one can become a total dullard just by stopping paying attention and closing oneself off.

To arouse someone’s interest for the long haul, you need to be an interesting person. Do things. Learn stuff. Get out and meet new people. Have a mission in life.

1. Maximize your physical appeal.

2. Develop good character traits.

3. Pursue your passions.

Do these three things like they’re your job, because if you want to marry and have a family, they are.

—————————-

Source: The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating, David M. Buss, 1994.

Read full article in Hooking Up Smart

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

Kris Humphries has decided to settle with Kim Kardashian in their divorce case after battling for a year and a half – and over five times as long as the marriage itself lasted.

According to sources, Kris backed down after no evidence of fraud perpetrated by Kim emerged.

He was then forced to consider mounting legal costs and the prospect of losing any pay-out from his estranged wife – a pre-nup would be invoked if the trial got to court.

This means that Kris has most likely agreed to a divorce – as Kim wished – and dropped his pleas for an annulment based on fraud, and sources are saying the judge has signed off divorce papers and dissolved the marriage.

Kris, who was ordered by the judge to attend Friday’s hearing so he could face fines for last no show, skipped the appointment.

But a sombre-looking Kim acquitted herself well by refusing to revel in getting the verdict she wanted, and looked stunning in a beautiful, suitably black fitted dress.

It’s been a dirty fight, with each camp going back and forth with tales of betrayal and deceit.

Swellagant: Kim looked lovely in a black shirt dress with pleated skirt as she arrived for her date with destiny

A source even claimed that Kris was the one who persuaded his estranged wife to take the honeymoon trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy.

‘Kris was the one to push for the honeymoon. Kim didn’t want to go on the honeymoon because they were scheduled to move to New York City to begin filming Kourtney & Kim Take New York,’ a source told Radar Online.

‘Kim finally relented. Kris was absolutely dumbfounded when a photographer appeared out of nowhere and started taking pics of them by the pool,’ the source said. ‘Kim happily posed, and Kris realised her camp had arranged it.’

Stylish: The court date mustered a delightful outfit from Kim

At her divorce deposition Kim confessed that she was against going on the holiday, which Kris is allegedly using as part of his case against the 32-year-old reality star, claiming their marriage was fraud.

On Wednesday Kim, who is pregnant with her first child, was seen looking somber as she arrived at a Los Angeles studio alone.

Her boyfriend Kanye West meanwhile has been based in Paris since Fashion Week in February, with Kim regularly flying over to visit him.

Oh Kim! Wearing a sexy camisole over jeans is probably one of Kim’s worst maternity moments

There’s really no denying that we’re curious about what goes on in other people’s bedrooms, or that we’re curious mainly because we want to know how it compares to what’s going on in our own. Is the sex we have as good? Do we have it as often? Does it last as long?

Glamour took a stab at answering this last question, surveying 1,000 young women to see how long foreplay and sex usually last for them. The majority of women surveyed said they spent 5 to 9 minutes on foreplay and 10 to 14 minutes on sex.

A 2012 study found that an average woman’s ideal day consists of 106 minutes of sexual intimacy — significantly more than what Glamour found is the average in reality.

So what do you think? Do you spend more or less time than you wish having sex? Do the average durations of foreplay and sex seem accurate to you?

Read more: Huffington Post