THE BAR BEACH SHORELINE OF LAGOS AND COASTAL FLOODING

agos is a metropolitan area (6°27′11″N 3°23′45″E) which originated on islands separated by creeks, such as Lagos Island and Victoria Island fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon while protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 km east and west of the mouth. This is the main beach on Victoria Island, alongside Ahmadu Bello Way and one of the more popular beaches in Lagos State. Bar Beach is the main (inner city) beach and runs from the Institute of Oceanography in the west to the Eko Hotel in the east.
Bar Beach is named after the sand spits/bars (moles) that characterized the coastline of Lagos, not because of the myriad of bars that run along the beach itself.
Lagos has a shoreline of about 181.71 km, which stretch from the water front of Kweme in Badagry LCDA to Ode Omi in Ibeju LCDA. By nature/location it is a coastal state bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the south, Ogun State on the north and east, and Benin Republic on the west.
The Atlantic Ocean which borders the state on the south is driven by Long Shore Currents that constantly depletes the sediments and resources of the beaches. The Lagos shore line is populated predominantly by sands, wetlands and bits of vegetation.
Longshore drift consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt and sand) along a coast at an angle to the shoreline, which is dependent on prevailing wind direction, swash and backwash. This process occurs in the littoral zone, and in or within close proximity to the surf zone. The process is also known as longshore transport or littoral drift.
Longshore drift is influenced by numerous aspects of the coastal system, with processes that occur within the surf zone largely influencing the deposition and erosion of sediments. Longshore currents can generate oblique breaking waves which result in longshore transport.
Over the years Lagos has experienced a loss in its beaches and shore lines as a result of factors which could be attributed to climate change and abandoned vessels along the coastline.
Within the Lagos metropolitan area are four lagoons (Lagos, Lekki, Ologe & Magbon). The Lagos lagoon is more than 50 km long and 3 to 13 km wide, separated from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spit 2 to 5 km wide, which has swampy margins on the lagoon side. Its surface area is approximately 6,354.7 km² (Obafemi, 2008). Lagos Lagoon empties into the Atlantic via Lagos Harbour, a main channel through the heart of the city, 0.5 km to 1 km wide and 10 km long also known as Commodore Channel. While Lekki Lagoon sometimes spelled Leeki, is a lagoon located in Lagos and Ogun states in Nigeria. The lagoon lies directly to the east of Lagos Lagoon and is connected to it by a channel. It is surrounded by many beaches.
SHORELINE PROTECTION MEASURES
As of May 2009 the project was still in its dredging phase. The power and potential violence of the Atlantic Ocean is expected to be tamed by a new offshore sea wall. A century of accelerating land loss that once threatened Lagos is expected to be reversed. Ships are taking sand from outside the reclamation area and repositioning it to recover the natural coastline. A new sea wall would safely deflect the threat of flooding from an unpredictable ocean. It would protect Lagos and the new city of Eko Atlantic. In certain parts of Bar Beach the land being reclaimed can already be seen.

A seawall is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation and leisure activities from the action of tides and waves (Kampuis, 2010).  As a seawall is a static feature it will conflict with the dynamic nature of the coast and impede the exchange of sediment between land and sea (Shipman et al, 2007).
The coast is generally a high-energy, dynamic environment with spatial variations occurring over a wide range of temporal scales (Allan et al, 1997).The shoreline is part of the coastal interface which is exposed to a wide range of erosional processes arising from fluvial, aeolian and terrestrial sources, meaning that a combination of denudational processes will work against a seawall (Fletcher et al, 1997).

A seawall works by reflecting incident wave energy back into the sea, thereby reducing the energy and erosion which the coastline would otherwise be subjected to (Kajenra, 2011). In addition to their unsightly visual appearance, two specific weaknesses of seawalls exist. Firstly, wave reflection induced by the wall may result in scour and subsequent lowering of the sand level of the fronting beach (Massenlink et al, 2003). Secondly, seawalls may accelerate erosion of adjacent, unprotected coastal areas because they affect the littoral drift process (NOAA, 2007). This point is true as evidence shows the Kuramo beach has been destroyed by the waves of the Atlantic Ocean reflected by the sea wall.
CONSEQUENCES OF SEAWALL ON SHORELINE
Last year we witnessed an Ocean surge that claimed many lives at the Kuramo beach. Just in January, 2013 from satellite pictures seen above the Atlantic Ocean has broken through the beach into the Kuramo Waters. These are facts and not fiction I believe it is very likely the seawall has been compromised. That is, the strength of the wall is in question. Its power of erosion would increase along the Lagos shoreline and would affect states like Ondo, Delta and Bayelsa as time goes on. Last year we warned at a forum organized by Heinrich boll foundation in Lagos that the Kuramo and its environs would be affected but, the contractors handling the project rejected our suspicion. The rate at which the coastline is being lost is alarming. From
research findings, if nothing concrete is done we may have the Atlantic Ocean break into the Lagos Lagoon and that may be the end for the State.
The rate at which the coastline is being lost is alarming. From research findings if nothing concrete is done we may have the Atlantic Ocean break into the Lagos Lagoon and that may be the end for the State.
Sea level rise creates an issue for seawalls worldwide as it raises both the mean normal water level and the height of waves during extreme weather events, which the current seawall heights may be unable to cope with (Allan et al. 1999). The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (1997) suggested that sea level rise over the next 50 – 100 years will accelerate with a projected increase in global mean sea level of +18 cm by 2050 AD. This data is reinforced by Hannah (1990) who calculated similar statistics including a rise of between +16-19.3 cm throughout 1900–1988.
It is advisable that the project be halted pending when unbiased assessors from international agencies assisted by local experts in Oceanography and geomorphology would be able to suggest a way around this disaster that has already claimed many lives.

Being Happy While Single is a Good Thing

If you’ve been single for a while, it’s pretty natural to want to change that, to find someone to share a relationship with. What might seem less natural, however, is that really wanting to be in a relationship might just be the one thing that stops you from ever finding one.
Let’s take a second to think about that properly. I’m talking about when you reach the state when you feel that you need to be in a relationship, or that being in a relationship will fix a lot of other problems in your life. Maybe you’ve been single for months, or years, or maybe the opposite – you start new relationships as soon as old ones end, never letting yourself stay single for long. Either way, you might be suffering from the same problem: you’re not happy being single.
Being unhappy to be single might seem natural and sensible enough to some, but I’m going to try to explain why that’s mistaken. I’ll also explain how this affects more than just your happiness while you’re on your own – it can have a detrimental effect on your ability to start relationships, and your ability to make them last after they have started.
Long story short: If you hate being single or think a relationship would be some magical cure-all, then you’re just likely to stay single even longer, and will struggle to form meaningful, long-lasting relationships.
So what’s wrong with wanting a relationship anyway?
There’s nothing in itself wrong with wanting a relationship, especially these days, when the drive to find a partner has been the basis of a major plot point in most films and TV shows over the years.
Pop culture constantly sends us the message that it’s better to be in a couple than not, that you’ll be happier in a couple, and even that you’re somehow a failure if you’re single.
Finding a girlfriend has become a sign of success as a man, another accomplishment along the lines of a well-paid job or a decent apartment. And this is where the problem starts: getting a girlfriend stops being a personal choice, something that might suit different people at different times, or even not at all for some.
Instead, those who are single are deficient, they’ve failed at some task that others have succeeded at…

The Purpose of Marriage is Growth

The Today Show” recently aired a segment about more Americans starting families without getting married.  Carson Daly, co-host of the segment, himself has two cute kids with his live-in girl friend of seven years. The segment highlighted several Hollywood couples who are famously unwed: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Goldie Hahn and Kurt Russell and of course Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

In fact, current marriage rates are at the lowest levels in more than 100 years. This begs the question…why are people less likely to stroll down the aisle of matrimony?

Laura Baron, life coach and relationship expert, makes two strong points.   “Hollywood affects all aspects of decisions of mainstream America, from products to fashion to trends, and now they are affecting how we do relationships,” she said. “It is much less intimidating to sign a lease than to sign a marriage contract.”
Well, of course it is more intimidating to sign a mortgage than a lease. One is more temporary by nature, while  the other provides more permanence.
Living together offers many of the benefits of marriage without making a commitment. Making a commitment can oft times be a really scary choice. It’s understandable that in our culture of divorce, many people are a little gun-shy about marriage.
Relationship therapist Argie Allen offers an answer as well. “People are getting married later. They have more choices. They’re choosing to co-habitate,” she said, adding this jewel,  ”an indicator of a good relationship is not how well you do when things are good, it’s how well you do when things are bad.”
Let’s pause here for a moment. I’ve noticed what appears to be a theme. When times get tough many couples want out, they want to make their escape easy or uncomplicated. Many couples want to do what is easy.
Marriage is not easy and I don’t blame anyone for waiting to ease into it, if at all. However, marriage requires a critical ingredient that few recognize and that is growth. And growth requires change. Change is not easy.
Finally, if you keep fixing up the house called marriage over time you’ll build up something I call “marital equity” and it has enormous value.
Think of the benefits that a mortgage brings that don’t first meet the eye, such as; tax benefits, legal protection and security.
Security in a relationship is priceless.  To be in a relationship that involves children, where either party can leave at will is unsettling to say the least. I’ve been married nearly 19 years and there were many times when I thought about throwing in the towel. I wanted someone to fix it and I wanted the pain to stop. Would it have been easier to hop out of my marriage? Yes. Might I have avoided the pain if I had never actually gotten married? Probably not.
Yet, when I look into the eyes of my wife and the eyes of my three daughters, I’m 100 percent confident that the depth of my love for them could not exist without the commitment and pain of growth as a husband and father.
Growth can be painful, but a healthy marriage comes at a price. Nothing good comes easy.
Darryl Cobbin is an accomplished, award-winning marketing executive, entrepreneur and author of  ’Before You Wed…Read This!’ He loves his family and his work.

Kennedy Assassination Left Many Blacks in Despair

It was early winter 1963, and the Civil Rights Movement was in high gear.

1963 had been seen many tragedies in the movement. Medgar Evers had been assassinated in Jackson, Miss. Four little girls had been murdered when a racist's bomb went off in a Birmingham, Ala., church.

There had also been victories. The March on Washington had drawn more than 250,000 people to the National Mall, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the leader of the movement, had inspired a generation with his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech. Volunteers, both Black and White, had converged on the South by the legions, empowering Blacks to register to vote, and to push back against racist policies.

People whose voices had been quieted by intimidation and violence, had banded together to demand their rights. Churches, had brought the word of freedom to their congregations and northern newspapers had begun to regularly to chronicle civil rights abuses.

President John F. Kennedy, who hailed from a family where public service was expected, had been more sympathetic to the civil rights cause than his predecessors. He had designated his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, the U.S. Attorney General, as his official change agent on civil rights issues.

Working together, the Kennedys had sent representatives from the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate violence against civil rights activists and to challenge racist and segregationist policies.

African Americans believed they had a friend in the White House after his election.

So when news came that Kennedy had been fatally shot in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald, a pall fell over the nation's Black leadership and many Black citizens.

A front page story under the headline “JFK’s death is mourned by a nation,” described the feeling among Blacks. “The assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas…stunned, angered and saddened colored citizens as it did most other Americans.”

Blacks joined the nation in mourning the loss of the charismatic young leader.

“We have lost the youngest President, the finest friend of the poor, the humble, and the disadvantaged this generation has known,” said an editorial that ran in the {AFRO} on Nov. 30, 1963. “He was a martyr in the cause of human rights—civil, political and social equality of colored people. His fate was the same as the other great President, advocate of freedom and emancipator, Abraham Lincoln…”

In the wake of Kennedy's death, President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had gotten to know something about the plight of minorities while teaching Mexicans in Texas shortly after graduating from college, took on the civil rights issue. During his presidency, both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed.

Blacks Who Stand Their Ground Often Imprisoned

 
The recent acquittal of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17 year old unarmed Trayvon Martin has led to intense scrutiny of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which hung over the Zimmerman trial along with similar “no retreat” self-defense laws, and their impact on people of color.
“I think the Trayvon Martin case highlighted the racial inequalities that exist in American society,” said Brendan Fischer, general counsel of the Center for Media and Democracy. “It is a symbol of how the American justice system devalues the lives of people of color. [And], ‘Stand Your Ground’ has embedded a lot of these injustices into the system. Statistics have shown its application has been anything but equitable.”
Supported by the National Rifle Association, “Stand Your Ground” was passed by the Florida legislature in 2005. The measure turned age-old self-defense principle on its head by allowing persons to use deadly force to defend themselves, without first trying to retreat, if they have a reasonable belief that they face a threat.
The law’s template was then adopted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonprofit organization made up of corporations, foundations and legislators that advance federalist and conservative public policies, authorities said. Since Florida passed the law, similar measures have been introduced in one form or another in about 30 states, usually those with state legislatures dominated by Republicans.
“That law gives law-and-order activists, right-wingers and vigilantes an arguable basis for defense and opens up a pathway for unjust dispositions of justice because it allows civilians to shoot first and make certain determinations later,” said Dwight Pettit, 67, a renowned Black attorney in Baltimore.
Pettit drew comparisons to police-involved shootings of African Americans when the officers make claims such as “I was in fear for my life,” or “I thought he was reaching for his gun,” and are exonerated. He said he discusses the phenomenon in his soon-to-be-released book Under Color of Law.
“Blacks don’t fare well with these laws at all,” Pettit said. “It’s another lessening of protection for African Americans.”
An analysis conducted by the {Tampa Bay Times} last year showed that defendants in Florida who employ the “Stand Your Ground” defense are more successful when the victim is Black. In its examination of 200 applicable cases, the {Times} found that 73 percent of those who killed a Black person were acquitted, compared to 59 percent of those who killed a White.
Similarly, an analysis of Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR) submitted by local law enforcement to the FBI between 2005 and 2010 demonstrates that in cases with a Black shooter and a White victim, the rate of justifiable homicide rulings is about 1 percent. However, if the shooter is White and the victim is Black, it is ruled justified in 9.5 percent of cases in non-Stand Your Ground (SYG) states. In SYG states, the rate is even higher—almost 17 percent, according to John Roman of the Urban Institute.
The trends could partly explain Zimmerman’s verdict, some legal experts said. While his defense team did not invoke the law, Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson introduced the principle in her instructions to the jury.
“If George Zimmerman was not engaged in an unlawful activity and was attacked in any place where he had a right to be, he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he reasonably believed that it was necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony,” she said in her instructions to the jury of one Hispanic and five White women.
To police officers and prosecutors in Sanford, Fla.—who had initially decided not to charge Zimmerman—and to jurors in the case, Zimmerman’s “fear” of Trayvon Martin, a hoodie-wearing Black teenager, likely appeared to be justified, Fischer said.
“If you have a case like George Zimmerman, who is part White, alleging that a young Black male is a threat to him, a lot of times law enforcement would agree that such as person did [constitute] a threat because of the biases and presumptions about Black males, in particular, which exist in society,” he said.
Conversely, Stand Your Ground laws are less accommodating of Black defendants. Such was the case of successful African-American businessman John McNeil who was found guilty of aggravated assault and felony murder in Georgia in 2006 in connection with the fatal shooting of White contractor Brian Epp. McNeil said Epp threatened him and his son during a hostile encounter after going onto McNeil’s property to confront him. He was released earlier this year on time served.
Similarly, in July 2012, Marissa Alexander, 31, the mother of three, was given a 20-year mandatory sentence for an aggravated assault conviction for firing a warning shot into the air in the garage of her home at her abusive husband. Alexander said the man was moving toward her as she attempted to retreat from him when she fired the shot. He was not injured.
Florida Sen. Gary Siplin (D) said the Alexander case was his motivation to attempt to get the Stand Your Ground law overturned. He was unsuccessful, however, because “there are more Democrats in Florida, but more Republicans [are] in charge and they don’t want to change the law,” he told the {AFRO}.
Working toward a repeal of the laws would be a positive outcome or response to the verdict in the George Zimmerman case, Fischer said.
“People have to vote and elect legislators that would support more just laws that protect the rights of all people instead of just a few,” he said.
In the meantime, many officials are vowing to examine the laws and work toward their repeal, if necessary.
“It’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a speech to the NAACP on July 16. “By allowing, and perhaps encouraging, violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety.”
The Trayvon Martin case “opened up a nationwide inquiry into the appropriateness and efficacy of Stand Your Ground laws,” said Commissioner Michael Yaki, of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, who initiated the body's investigation into racial bias in the application of such laws. He said the commission is committed to investigating the laws.
“To honor Trayvon and his family, we will continue this inquiry with resolve and renewed purpose,” Yaki said.

Fla. Woman Sentenced to 20 Yrs. for Firing Warning Shot—RELEASED

 


The Florida woman awaiting a new trial in a controversial "stand your ground" case is free on bond.
First Coast News (http://fcnews.tv/18q19sa) reports that Marissa Alexander was released from jail Wednesday. According to the Duval County Clerk of Court, she must remain under house arrest and electronic monitoring while awaiting trial.
In 2012, Alexander was sentenced to a mandatory 20-year prison sentence for firing what she insisted was a warning shot during a fight with her husband. She tried to invoke Florida's "stand your ground" law but the judge threw out her self-defense claim, noting that she could have run out of the house to escape her husband but instead got the gun and went back inside
An appeals court ruled in September that the judge in the case gave improper jury instructions, and a new trial has been set for next year.
Alexander's supporters, including the NAACP and advocates for victims of domestic violence, have compared the case to the trial of George Zimmerman, who recently was acquitted in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. Both cases have brought into question the state's "stand your ground" law, which generally allows people to use deadly force if they feel threatened.
Alexander, who had never been arrested before, has said she fired a bullet at a wall in 2010 to scare off her husband when she felt he was threatening her. No one was hurt, but the judge in the case said he was bound by state law to sentence her to 20 years in prison after she was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Alexander had rejected a plea deal that would have resulted in a three-year prison sentence and chose to go to trial. A jury deliberated 12 minutes before convicting her.
Alexander was also charged with domestic battery four months after the shooting in another assault on her husband. She pleaded no contest and was sentenced to time served.
State Attorney Angela Corey, who oversaw the prosecution of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, has stood by the handling of Alexander's case. Corey said she believes that Alexander aimed the gun at the man and his two sons, and that the bullet she fired could have ricocheted and hit any of them.

Rihanna Garners Criticism after Receiving Icon Award

 


Pop star Rihanna recently became the first to take home the honor of “Icon” bestowed by the American Music Awards (AMA), but her selection has met with controversy.

AMA cited Rihanna’s six Grammy awards, 11 Billboard Awards, and 180 million digital tracks sold worldwide, and relied heavily on social media to make the decision, taking into account her 10 million Instagram and 33 million Twitter followers.

After an introduction by Bill Maher and a performance of her hit song “Diamonds,” Rihanna was presented the award by her mother, Monica Braithwaite.

“Rihanna, I’m so proud of you tonight,” she said as she presented the trophy. “I know the journey in your career has not always been an easy one, but tonight I applaud you and admire you for being so strong and so positive and so humble and so focused.”

“It’s amazing how you always manage to take good from all your experiences,” Braithwaite added. “I’m so blessed to be a part of this historic moment. I just want to say how proud I am to present to you the first-ever AMA Icon Award.”

With the AMA touting her as the “most viewed artist on YouTube,” the “biggest artist on Facebook” and the “best selling digital artist of all time,” the star took to the stage clad in a full-length black outfit with her hair still doobie-wrapped and held in place with studded bobby pins.

“I can’t believe that at 25 years old, I’m holding an Icon Award,” the star said in her acceptance speech.

She’s not the only one.

The Twitter-verse and Facebook alike continued to buzz over whether other artists, such as Beyonce and Adele, should have been honored first.

“Wrong choice,” said one commenter, Jimmy Fores of Annondale, Va.

“It’s not about talent it’s about popularity,” said Jersey City native Regina Smith.

Still, for every negative reaction, there were hundreds more of a positive tone.

“Thank you for giving Rihanna the Icon Award, she got robbed so many times and has not received the acclimations she deserved in the past,” said Lois Kebe of Mount Vernon, Ohio, before calling the recognition bittersweet. “Her amazing performance on the recording ‘Stay’ should have won every award in its category.”

Aside from taking the Icon Award, Rihanna also grabbed the honor for top female artist at the awards show, which aired live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

Justin Timberlake took home the award for favorite album, favorite male pop artist and favorite male soul artist.

Also honored was Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez as the surviving members of the TLC trio gave a special reunion performance.

Kanye West Threatens to Boycott Louis Vuitton

Producer and rap star Kanye West has launched another public tantrum, this time against luxury handbag, clothing and accessory design house Louis Vuitton.

The influential, outspoken hip-hop recording artist said he is displeased with the fashion line’s lack of diversity and considers their pricing “ridiculous.”

West took to the air-waves Nov. 25 on 92.3 NOW in New York to not only voice his frustrations but to persuade consumers and his fans not to purchase Louis Vuitton products because the luxury brand decided not to work with him.

“Everybody in New York City right now, don’t buy any Louis Vuitton until after January,” West said in an interview with 92.3 NOW. “Now do you want to meet with me?”

West, 36, said he was in Paris and wanted to meet with Vice President Yves Carcelle, the head of Louis Vuitton, but Carcelle declined. West claimed Carcelle said, “I don’t understand why we need to meet with you.”

When the rapper entered the rap scene he was known as “Mr. Louis Vuitton,” always seen wearing signature Louis Vuitton backpacks, hats and accessories.

“Influence. They think that I don’t realize my power. They want to marginalize me,” West said.

In September, he slammed high-end fashion house Fendi for rejecting his leather jogging pant idea.

West, who is trying to get a sneaker contract, initially faced setbacks on that front. He tried to strike a deal with Nike but the shoe manufacturer declined to offer him royalties for his Yeezus collection because he isn’t a professional athlete.

Adidas has agreed to his terms, and West is on his way to create his sneaker collection.

“I am going to be the Tupac of product,” he said. “I’m going to be the first hip-hop designer and because of that I’m going to be bigger than Wal-Mart.”

 

The race to Oscar has officially begun, as the slavery exploration “12 Years a Slave” was nominated Nov. 26 for a leading seven Spirit Awards, which honor independent film.

The Steve McQueen-directed drama is up for best feature, best director, best actor (Chiwetel Ejiofer), best supporting actress (Lupita Nyong’o), best supporting actor (Michael Fassbender), best screenplay (John Ridley) and best cinematography (Sean Bobbitt).

With six nominations, Alexander Payne’s black-and-white comedy “Nebraska” is also in the running for best feature, best director, best actor for Bruce Dern, best supporting actress for June Squibb, best supporting actor for Will Forte and best first screenplay for Bob Nelson.

Other best-picture contenders include J.C. Chandor’s near-wordless shipwreck drama “All is Lost,” Noah Baumbach’s New York tale “Frances Ha” and the Coen brothers’ folk music story “Inside Llewyn Davis.”

“All is Lost” also earned a best director slot for Chandor. Also up for best director are Jeff Nichols for the coming-of-age drama “Mud” and Shane Carruth for the sci-fi “Upstream Color.”

Along with Ejiofor and Dern, the best male lead category includes Oscar Isaac for “Inside Llewyn Davis,” Matthew McConaughey for “Dallas Buyers Club,” Robert Redford for “All is Lost” and Michael B. Jordan for “Fruitvale Station.”

Julie Delpy received two nominations, for best female lead and best screenplay for “Before Midnight,” the third installment in the romantic drama series that kicked off with “Before Sunrise” in 1995. Delpy shares the best screenplay nomination with Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the script.

Among other best actress nominees are Cate Blanchett for “Blue Jasmine,” Gaby Hoffmann for “Crystal Fairy,” Brie Larson for “Short Term 12” and Shailene Woodley for “The Spectacular Now.”

Accompanying Delpy in the best screenplay category is Woody Allen for “Blue Jasmine,” Nicole Holofcener for “Enough Said” and Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber for “The Spectacular Now.”

For his performance in the romantic comedy “Enough Said,” James Gandolfini earned a posthumous nomination for best supporting male.

Though the Spirit Awards were begun to honor lower-budget films outside of Hollywood’s mainstream, there is often overlap, and particularly so this year. Many of the 2013 Spirit nominees are expected to be strong Oscar contenders. Higher-budget studio releases like “Gravity” and “Captain Phillips” don’t compete in the Spirit Awards, which are limited to films with a budget less than $20 million.

Last year, David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” swept the Spirit Awards, winning best feature, best director, best screenplay and best actress for Jennifer Lawrence.

Presented by the cinema group Film Independent, the Spirit Awards will be handed out the day before the Oscars at an afternoon ceremony along the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., on Mar. 1. The Spirit Awards will air that night on IFC.

Nominees were chosen by panels of film professionals. Members of Film Independent, including filmmakers and movie fans, are eligible to vote on the winners

Man Survives 60 Hours at Bottom of Atlantic

 

Entombed at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in an upended tugboat and dressed only in boxer shorts, Harrison Odjegba Okene begged God for a miracle.
A video of the Nigerian cook's rescue after 60 hours trapped in an air pocket was posted on the Internet this week more than six months after his rescue and has since gone viral.
As the temperature dropped to freezing, Okene recited the last psalm his wife had sent by text message, sometimes called the Prayer for Deliverance: "Oh God, by your name, save me. ... The Lord sustains my life."
To this day, Okene believes his rescue in May is a sign of divine deliverance. The other 11 seaman aboard the Jascon 4 died.


 this image made available Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, Harrison Odjegba Okene looks in awe as a rescue diver surfaces into the air pocket which has kept Okene alive for nearly three days, recorded by the diver's headcam video the full impact of the miraculous encounter becomes plain the see. Okene was working as a cook aboard a tugboat in the Atlantic Ocean off the Nigerian coast in June 2013, when a heavy swell caused the vessel to capsize and his boat sank to the sea bed, where his 11 colleagues drowned, but Okene was able to find an air pocket inside the sunken ship where he survived for nearly three days before being found by a group of South African rescue divers. A video made available Tuesday Dec. 3, 2013, was filmed while the South African crew searched his vessel and found Okene alive before being given water and oxygen and then led to safety and to a decompression chamber for his recovery. Photo/DCN Diving (AP Photo)

Thailand's Yingluck Shinawatra dismisses calls to step down

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dismissed calls by protesters for her to step down by Tuesday, saying she is open to talks to resolve demonstrations against her government that turned violent over the weekend.

Yingluck said in a televised news conference that it would be unconstitutional for her to step down and that the door was open for negotiations.

The leader of the anti-government demonstrations, Suthep Thaugsuban, on Sunday urged the democratically elected Yingluck to resign, saying he was giving her two days to "return power to the people unconditionally."

He made the comments after a face-to-face meeting with the Prime Minister in the presence of military leaders.

Thai police, protesters play cat & mouse

Police clash with protesters in Bangkok

CNN interviews Thai prime minister

Suthep, a former deputy prime minister for the opposition Democrat Party, has called for power to be transferred to an unelected "people's council."

But Yingluck, who survived a no confidence vote in Parliament last week, is refusing to budge despite weeks of protests in the streets of the capital, Bangkok.

Monday evening, a Thai court issued an arrest warrant for Suthep on a charge of insurrection.

Worst unrest in years

On Saturday, three people were killed and more than 60 wounded in clashes between protesters and Yingluck's supporters -- the worst civil unrest in Thailand since a military crackdown on demonstrations in 2010.

On Sunday, police used tear gas to fend off demonstrators trying to force their way into the government headquarters. Many protestors had towels they soaked with water to hold over their mouths and eyes for the gas.

Yingluck reiterated Monday that authorities would not use violence against protesters, but police appeared to be resorting to increasingly tough measures to keep demonstrators at bay.

Lt. Gen. Paradon Patthanathabut said police at government headquarters had used rubber bullets in certain instances.

The number of protesters in the area appeared lower than in recent days, but hardcore elements seemed to be among those who remained. Tear gas canisters, rocks and bottles of water were hurled back and forth across the barricades.

The government headquarters, known as Government House, are a symbolic target for protesters. Amid the siege, Yingluck has decamped from the seat of government power to the police headquarters, said government spokesman Teerat Rattanasevi.

Demonstrators, meanwhile, continued to occupy official buildings they had stormed last week -- the Ministry of Finance and another complex of government offices.

But Suthep's call for a civil servants to go on strike appeared not to have taken hold Monday.

"Governmental agencies are all functioning normally," said Teerat. "But of course, some offices that have been taken over by these protesters have to work from their temporary setups."

Thaksin's influence

Protesters say they want to rid Thailand of the influence of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the older brother of Yingluck.

That's an ambitious goal in a country where parties affiliated with Thaksin, who built his political success on populist policies that appealed to Thailand's rural heartland, have won every election since 2001.

Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006, and has spent most of the time since then in exile overseas. If he returns, he risks a two-year prison sentence on a corruption conviction, which he says was politically motivated.

The current protests in Bangkok were prompted by a botched attempt by Yingluck's government to pass an amnesty bill that would have opened the door for her brother's return.

That move added fuel for critics who accuse Yingluck of being nothing more than Thaksin's puppet, an allegation she has repeatedly denied.

The military -- which removed Thaksin amid protests in 2006 -- has remained on the sidelines of the current crisis. Yingluck said Monday that she believes the military is taking a neutral stance.

Chaos and commerce

Although the demonstrations have brought chaos to certain pockets of Bangkok and prompted warnings from foreign embassies to avoid protest areas, everyday life has continued in much of the city.

Some street traders have even adapted to service protesters needs.

On Sunday, many people down the street from the barricades near Government House, just out of reach of the tear gas, were cooking by the side of the road. Others were driving through with pick-up trucks giving food to protestors.

One enterprising vendor rode through the protest area selling ice creams in between volleys of tear gas.

Boko Haram crisis: Maiduguri curfew after Nigeria attack

Roads in Maiduguri were deserted on Monday in the wake of the attack

A 24-hour curfew has been imposed in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri after a major attack.

Officials suspect Islamist militants from the Boko Haram group were behind an assault on a military airbase in the early hours of Monday.
A BBC correspondent says the large-scale, co-ordinated attack is a big setback for the Nigerian military.
Thousands of people have been killed since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its campaign to install Islamic law.
In May, a state of emergency was declared in Borno, of which Maiduguri is the capital, and there has been a massive military deployment to the worst-affected areas.
Chants of Allahu Akbar The latest violence began about 03:00 local time (02:00 GMT) and included bomb and gun attacks, an AFP reporter in the city said.
"They entered Maiduguri from the bush, chanting 'Allahu Akbar' [God is great]," a Nigerian intelligence officer told the agency.

Some eyewitnesses said they had seen bodies with their throats slit.
Others said several vehicles had been driven out of the air base carrying the bodies of victims.
There are also reports of military checkpoints being attacked in different parts of the city.
Recent Boko Haram attacks have been in more rural areas, and it had appeared as though the military operation had made Maiduguri city far safer, says the BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross.
Maiduguri's civilian airport has also been closed as a result of the attack.
Mobile phone links to the city have been cut since May, when the state of emergency was declared.
Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri 2002.