Local elections in Belgium have resulted in widespread gains for the Flemish Nationalist Party (NVA), which wants to divide the country further.
The party is now the biggest political force in Flanders, the Flemish-speaking region of Belgium.
Its leader, Bart De Wever, also won the race to become mayor of Antwerp, Europe’s second-biggest port city.
The NVA’s victory comes amid a growing separatist trend in Europe.
There have been growing calls for independence from nationalists in Catalonia in Spain and Scotland in the United Kingdom, as the Eurozone crisis tests loyalties across the European Union.
After their success became apparent, Mr De Wever immediately demanded negotiations “to enable both Flanders and Wallonia to look after their own affairs”.
He has played down talk of secession from Belgium. He has said he wants to turn Belgium into a “confederation,” in which the Dutch-speaking north has fiscal independence while continuing to share some areas, like defence, with the French-speaking south.
The NVA believes that wealthy Flanders should not be subsidising poorer Wallonia, which it accuses of wasting money.
Mr De Wever argues that the party is standing up for Belgium’s Flemings, who make up 6 million people in a country of 11 million.
It is a position which helped them to win 27 out of 150 seats in the last general election in 2010, but also led to political paralysis when Mr De Wever could not come to an agreement with coalition partners.
The BBC’s Maddy Savage in Brussels says he will now be looking to build on the party’s success in local elections to take on Belgium’s socialist Prime Minister Elio di Rupo in national elections in 2014.
Today, David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister and Alex Salmond, Scottish first Prime Minister signed a historic agreement on an independence referendum that might allow Scotland to break away from the UK.
A two-year campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Scottish people before they vote on whether to leave the United Kingdom began today after the Scottish and UK governments signed an historic agreement on an independence referendum.
David Cameron, who approved the deal in Edinburgh with Alex Salmond, the SNP First Minister, immediately dangled the prospect of further devolution if the country votes No to breaking its 305-year link with England since the 1707 Act of Union. The Prime Minister made a clear attempt to stop the SNP pushing supporters of more devolution into the Yes camp after Mr Salmond dropped his idea of having such a “devo max” option on the ballot paper.
The Coalition Government insisted on a single question. In return, Mr Salmond achieved his goals of delaying the referendum until 2014 and for 16 and 17 year-olds to be allowed to vote.
Mr Cameron said: “All those who want to see not only the status quo but further devolution from the United Kingdom to Scotland must vote to stay within the United Kingdom. Then it’ll be for all the parties to decide what proposals to put forward, but I’ve always taken the view we have to answer this prior question first. We have to answer the question: does Scotland want to stay in the United Kingdom? If the answer is Yes we do want to stay in the United Kingdom, then obviously further devolution is possible.”
Denying that the UK Government had made more concessions in the negotiations than the SNP administration in Edinburgh, Mr Cameron said: “What we have is what I always wanted, which is one single question, not two questions, not devo max, a very simple single question that has to be put before the end of 2014 so we end the uncertainty, we put beyond doubt Scotland’s position either within the UK, as I hope, or separating itself from the UK.”
Mr Salmond insisted the Yes campaign could turn round opinion polls putting the No camp ahead by “winning the argument” over the next two years. “I believe we’ll win it by setting out a positive vision for a better future for our country economically and also, crucially, socially,” he said.
The First Minister said today’s agreement paved the way for the most important decision Scotland has made in several hundred years. “It is, in that sense, an historic day for Scotland and a major step forward in Scotland’s home rule journey.” He said the deal meant there would be “respect” for the outcome “whatever it is” and meant the SNP could now address the substantive arguments involved in devolution.
The pro-independence campaign faces an uphill struggle because polls in recent months showed an average 37 per cent of Scots in favour of a breakaway after “don’t knows” are excluded. John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said Mr Salmond needed to convince Scots they would enjoy “sunnier economic times” as a separate country. “Even amongst the three in 10 Scots who say they are ‘Scottish, not British’ only just over half (53 per cent) currently say that they want independence,” he added. “Some 78 per cent of those who think the Scottish economy would be a lot better under independence are in favour of leaving the UK. However, at the moment almost as many people think Scotland’s economy would be worse under independence as believe it would be better.”
Downing Street insisted that allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the Scottish referendum did not open the door for the same group to take part in future general elections – or even in the referendum on Britain’s relationship with the European Union floated by Mr Cameron.
A Number 10 spokesman said: “The Government certainly has no plans to change the voting age. The agreement being signed today is specific to the referendum. We are confident that there are no wider implications or precedents for elections, or indeed referendums, under UK electoral law.”
The organisers of Africa Fashion Week London 2012 are delighted to announce their partnership with the organisers of the Amina premiere which will see AFWL 2012 designers dress a number of the actors for the red carpet of the world premiere of the Nollywood movie scheduled for Wednesday 17 October 2012 at London’s Leicester Square.
While Benjamin Kitoko who will be showcasing at AFWL 2013 will be dressing the co-producer lead actor Wil Johnson and the producer/director Christian Ashaiku, Connie Shalifa of Clisha Couture, who showcased on the second day of AFWL 2012 will be providing bespoke garments for the red carpet host Anneka Honor and a number of female members of the cast including Alison Caroll and Nicole da Silva Semedo.
Both Benjamin Kitoko and Connie Shalifa were interviewed for the promotional video for the premiere which is one of the most highly anticipated London premieres of a Nollywood production this year.
Amina world premiere organised by AOC Communications and Screen Nation Media will be taking place this Wednesday, 17 October 2012 at Empire Leicester Square with red carpet from 7.45pm featuring a host of celebrities from Nigeria’s Omotola Jalede-Ekeinde to Ghana’s Van Vicker, screening at 8.45pm followed by an after-party.
For more information on the Amina premiere and to purchase tickets visit
This article was culled from Punch Nigeria. Their reporters visited the Aluu community to report on students rampage as a revenge on the Uniport Killing of four student
Vandalised vehicles. Inset:Ahanonu in his burnt house.
THE people of Omuokiri Aluu Community have begun to count their losses barely 24 hours after students from the University of Port Harcourt embarked on reprisals to avenge the killings of their colleagues.
The angry students had on Tuesday stormed the community, burnt some houses, cars and other property over the torture and murder of the students on Friday.
Four undergraduates of UNIPORT were lynched by a mob comprising members of the community for allegedly stealing laptop computer and a BlackBerry phone.
The students were Biringa Chiadika of the Theatre Arts Department; Ugonna Obuzor of Geology Department, Mike Toku Llyod of Civil Engineering Department and Tekena Erikena.
When our correspondent visited the community on Wednesday, few of the indigenes were seen bemoaning their losses.
One of the leaders of the community, Sunday Ahanonu, said he had lost all he laboured for to the students’ reprisals.
Ahanonu, whose house was torched by the students, expressed shock that security agents could not stop the rampaging students when they stormed the community.
Sixty-five-year-old Ahanonu and father of 15 children, worked at UNIPORT for 35 years before he retired.
He appealed to the state government and the management of the university to compensate him for the destruction of his property, adding that he and members of his family were not involved in the killings of the students.
Ahanonu said, “I am a retired civil servant. I worked with UNIPORT for 35. But all I have achieved for many years have been destroyed by students from the university. I don’t know where my family and I will lay our heads when my only house has been burnt.
“I lost the sum of N850,000 cash, which I kept in my house. I could not take the money to the bank because I was not feeling okay and went to the hospital. It was at the hospital that I learnt that my house was burnt by the students.”
Also, a woman, who identified herself as Pauline Nwakwo, told our correspondent that she left the village when she learnt that security agents had embarked on mass arrest, but came back to notice that her bar had been burgled.
According to her, the rampaging students forcibly entered her bar and carried away her deep freezer and drinks.
She said, “As a woman, I had to run away when we noticed that the police were embarking on mass arrest. The students broke the door to my bar and took away a deep freezer I bought for N66,000. I want government to pay me back all I have lost.
“The students were killed far from here at the Burrow pit. We don’t know anything about the killings of the students.”
Indigenes of the community were also seen leaving their homes in droves to other places in order to avoid being attacked by the students.
One of them, who gave her name as Comfort, said she was relocating her children to Elele in Rivers State and would only return to Omuokiri Aluu whenever normalcy returns.
An artisan, Mr. Wisdom Ajuwon, who repairs home appliances along the Omuokiri Aluu Road, said he lost property worth about N500,000 to the riotous students.
Showing a list of what he lost to the fire ignited by students, Ajuwon also appealed to the state government to come to his aid.
A cleric in the area, Pastor John Paul, described the situation in the community as terrible, adding that people were running out of their homes like refugees.
Tuesday September 9, Nigeria’s top music icon and a United Nations Youth Ambassador for Peace Dbanj released a press release addressing the gruesome murder of the Aluu four. The victims, 19 year old Lloyd Michael, Ugonna Ubuzor, 19 year old Tekena Elkanah and Chidiaka Biringa were students at the University of Port Harcourt. The youngsters were murder after being accused of stealing mobile phones and laptop computer by the people of Aluu community in Rivers State, Nigeria.
The four students were then beaten to death and set on fire. This happened while the rest of the people stood and watch without intervention.
Below is Dbanj’s take on the event;
Five days ago, I woke up to yet another unspeakable tragedy.
Four young men, all undergraduates, brimming with great dreams, unfulfilled aspirations and a promising future were killed.
To express the depth of my pain and shock at their murder is impossible. And understanding how events could have degenerated to this level is truthfully beyond me.
Lloyd, Ugo, Tekana and Chidiaka
Four promising young men whose lives were interwoven in one way or the other with yours and mine.
I mourn deeply with the families of these young men because this OUR collective loss. They were our colleagues, our classmates, our neighbors, our brothers…our friends.
We are NOT a nation of barbarians. We CAN follow due processes and procedures. We MUST fight together as ONE NATION to ensure that Justice as whole is served, and as a PROCESS, is duly followed – ALWAYS
We can only try to make meaning of this senseless tragedy by ensuring that this WILL not happen again, by affirming that the pursuit of justice does not in any way entitle any of us to the willful elimination of other people’s lives and by ensuring that we, as youths, do not destroy the honorable mantle placed on us as the futures of our nation, by eliminating our present.
Aluu 4 and Mubi 40, Rest In Perfect Peace.
Good Bless Nigeria
Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo
D’banj
UN Youth Ambassador for Peace
Christie Brown African fashion pieces were showcased at this year’s edition of Ghana Fashion and Design Week. The Ghanaian design label was one of the brands that showcased their latest collections at this top fashion show. For the collection, Christie Brown used floral fabric, tulle, laces, and other sheer materials.
For some time now, Africa fashion and the ankara print has been trending and breaking fashion barriers. If you have not been rocking pieces from all the top designer using the ankara African print to create their pieces, or those making their with inspirations from African cultures, this is the time to start.
These Christie Brown African fashion pieces are perfect for different occasions. For more styles and tips on African print and African fashion, please take a tour around the site and you will find several other styles to copy or use as a source of inspiration for your own unique designs.
What do you think of these African fashion pieces? share your views by leaving a comment below. And don’t forget to keep on slaying.
Do you know we are on social media? If you have not been following us, please do. You can like our Facebook page, follow us o Tumblr, subscribe to our Youtube channel and also follow us on Pinterest.
Second Year Students at the University College Makerere have invented a Pregnancy Scan Machine.
Africans are progressing in every sector as days pass by. Uganda is one of the countries in Africa who has recently won an honor in the Microsoft East and Southern Imagine cup competition. These students have again boosted the image of the continent. Three second year students of the department of Computing and Information Technology in Makerere University namely; Aaron Tushabe, Joshua Okello and Josiah Kavuma have invented a hand-held pregnacy scan-like machine called WinSenga.
The machine, which consists of a funnel-like pinnard horn similar to the one used by midwives, can be used to scan a pregnant woman’s womb or detect problems such as ectopic pregnancy or abnormal foetal heart beats. According to the team of students, “We called it WinSenga to relate to traditional birth attendants.”
According to the inventors, they conceived the idea of inventing this device after their visit to one of the local hospitals in the country. In their words, “when you go to our hospitals, you find the midwife using the traditional pinard to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. But they might not always hear anything or get enough details about the baby. We thought we could aid doctors to give the best services,”
The Pregnacy Scan Machine in Use
“With this device, you can know how old the fetus is, whether it is underweight, its position and breathing pattern. Then decide on what precaution to take or the treatment to give,” said Tushabe. “You can access the information anytime you log on because once you are done with diagnosis, it records automatically.”
This is a huge transformation for the country as a whole.
Hello Afro fashionistas and plus size fashionistas, come in here and take a look at these lovely plus styles that you can copy and add to your wardrobe. Gone are the days plus size women find it difficult to buy the right clothes to give them a fashionable look. Today, the plus-size blogger has redefined what fashion is for women on the big size, and magazines and fashion designers have now taken notice. As such, it is no longer news to see designers making clothes exclusively for plus size women or those that were making clothes for a limited size of women to now increase their range and include sizes for women on the bigger side.
All these lovely plus size styles you will find in this post are from the plus-size fashion blogger, Grown and Curvy Woman. Her styles are mainly for mature women who are on the plus size and also those that are curvy. While these styles are ideas for plus-sized women, they can actually be worn by women of different sizes and body frame, you just have to pick the right size for you and combine the way she has done here. You can also decide t combine them in your own way, to suit your own style and see her style as a source of inspiration.
Now that you have seen them all, what do you think of these lovely plus size styles from Grown and Curvy Woman? Did you style any style that you would like to copy or use as a source of inspiration to update or add to your own fashion game? Which of the styles are your favourite and which ones are not? Share your views with us by leaving a comment below. We cannot wait to see and read what you think about all of these styles that can be worn by women on the big side.
If you have not been following us on our social platforms, it’s time to do so. You can check out the Afrocosmopolitan Youtube channel and subscribe to it so you can get an update on our uploads. connect with and like the AfroCosmopolitan Facebook page. If you have some time, also check us out on Twitter and Pinterest. We can’t wait to see you connect with us and interact on a closer level. Good luck and keep on looking fab like the true fashionista that you are.
Marriage is a state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognised by law.
The story of Cinderella was wonderful. It does indeed warm the heart. It has inspired so many people and motivated them to fall in love. However, the truth is, it is an idealised version of falling in love that rarely ever approximates the reality of what love really means.
So many questions have been asked when it comes to love and marriage. This article will discuss essential things that are needed to make your relationship stronger and longer.
Is Marriage Worth Saving?
It is quite difficult to answer this question, but the truth of it is that marriage should not and cannot be saved for several reasons. However, some marriages can be saved but in very rare cases. According to Dr. Charles D. Schmitz and Dr. Elizabeth A. Schmitz “In the case of abuse – sexual, physical, mental – many failing marriages and relationships are simply not worth saving. In fact, to attempt to save them puts one or both partners in the relationship at risk for further abuse” They added that some marriages become so poisonous, dysfunctional and hopeless so much so that it is better to end them than to live in the illusion of saving them.
If someone says I do not love you again can you make them love you again?
The answer to this question is No. To be quite honest you should appreciate the fact that they are very honest to tell you they do not love you again. Life is evolutionary as season’s change, so do the people you got married to three to six years ago. In order to avoid this change happening to you, the best suggestion is to look at your relationship and communicate frequently and make sure you are aware of the changes not only on the other person but also within yourself and effectively communicate them; that way you will not wake up in the midst of a nightmare.
Most often women fall victims to this issue. They know that something has changed in the man, instead of looking for a way to tackle it, they go ahead to do Botox thinking it will get better. If you want to do botox for yourself, that is fine but the advice here is that instead of doing Botox, find out what has changed and why it has changed.
Appreciate what you already have
One of the things Dr Ivan Young advised is about cherishing your partner. In order to do this, you have to focus on the positive and not the negative. We all have negatives so appreciate what you already have and build more on it. Build more on your strengths and not your weaknesses.
What do I need to know before getting married?
Prior to getting married, there is a lot to do. There is the saying that a good relationship is the result of love and a lot of bad ones are the result of the lack of it.
To have a good relationship, it is important to love yourself first. The second thing is to look at what you need when you deciding to take on the project. Yes, a project it is. When you marry that person, they automatically become your project and you become the same to them. For this reason, it is very important to be very honest about who you are as well as who you are not.
When you meet somebody, you meet the representative. It takes eighteen to twenty-four months to really know that person. So do not be in a hurry to get married. Most men always marry for the wrong reasons. They get married because they want to keep control or they want to appease their women.
It is important for every man or woman who wants to make a commitment to promise their partner the following things; If you are sick I will be there, and I will give you my card when you lose your job or give you my entire pay cheque.
Before you make those decisions be sure that you really understand what you are getting into because there is nothing wrong in being single.
Secondly, there is definitely nothing wrong with taking your time to get to know that person. As mentioned before, people meet a representative and it takes about 18 to 24 months to find out the real person behind them.
So, before calling him my guy/gal or my man/woman make sure you are friends first or make sure you really know who they are and how they had treated their ex-partners. You will enjoy a stronger and longer relationship by knowing each other better.
