Millennials Are Setting New Records—for Living With Their Parents

More young adults are living with their parents than at any time since 1940, according to new data. And for today’s millennials, it means that more than a third of young women and almost half of young men will have to say a sad goodbye to that dream of the Rachel-and-Monica-loft from Friends.

The Pew Research Center data shows that about 36% of women and 48% of men ages 18-34 lived with their families in 1940. Young people started moving out mid-century as they became more economically independent, and by 1960 only 24% of young adults total—men and women—were living with mom and dad. But that number has been rising ever since, and in 2014, the number of young women living with their parents eclipsed 1940s—albeit by less than a percentage point. And last year 43% of young men were living at home, which is the highest rate since 1940. There isn’t comparable data for the number of young people living at home before 1940.

The large number of young men living at home can be largely attributed to economic factors. In 1940, many young men were staying in the nest because of the lingering effects of the Great Depression. But for women, the reasons for staying at home are very different. Young women in 1940 were less likely to go to college, and often stayed in their parents’ house until they got married—but they usually got married much earlier. In 1940, 62% of young women were married; in 2013, it was 13%. Back then, the average age at first marriage was between 21 and 22; today, it’s 27.

Ironically, increased college education and later marriages might explain why more women are living at home. Women are five times more likely to go to college today than they were in 1940, but college is also much more expensive than it was then—and many college students may choose to stay with their parents to offset rising college costs. In 2014, 45% of women college students lived with their parents, according to Pew, compared to 33% of non-students.

Gambia bans female genital mutilation

Gambia has become the latest in a string of African nations to ban female genital mutilation (FGM), an ancient tradition of removing external parts of a girl's vagina that has been widely condemned.

The country's information ministry on Tuesday confirmed the move in a statement that cited President Yahya Jammeh as saying that FGM has no place in Islam - the country's predominant belief system - or in a modern society.

Berhane Raswork, one of the first African activists to break the taboo of FGM and the founder of The Inter-African Committee which now operates in 28 African countries to bring an end to FGM, called the move a "positive step".

FGM can lead to serious infections, bleeding, infertility, maternal complications and even death in some cases.

Raswork cited growing pressure from international and national rights groups over decades as a main driving force behind Gambia's ban.

"This is a result of the work undertaken by some non-governmental organisations and women activists who fought against FGM for something like 30 years at different levels, including the UN system," she told Al Jazeera.

'Local initiatives needed'

Sabrina Mahtani, a researcher for Amnesty International in West Africa, also praised Gambia's move, but said "time will tell whether concrete steps are taken".

"There still needs to be more funding towards local initiatives in order to implement the ban," she told Al Jazeera.

Raswork blames the continent-wide problem on misinterpretations and misuses of religions, including Christianity and Islam, to enforce a "patriarchal system in order to control the female body and most of all its reproductive role".

She also called for local organisations to work together to put the ban into effect.

"In order to make the law meaningful the population has to understand its objective through education and information. Different stakeholders including lawmakers, religious leaders, women leaders, and the youth need to be mobilised to help implement the law to ban the practice," she added.

Gambia joins at least 20 African countries that have banned FGM.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 125 million women across the world have undergone the practice, which involves cutting off the labia and clitoris, often when girls are young.

Writer Loses Battle To Have Age Pulled From Web

Schels filed the lawsuit in May, arguing that her "data protection rights" had been infringed.

She added that by having her age published online, she could be disadvantaged in her career.

Now a court in Munich has ruled against her - pointing out that her date of birth is published in one of her own books.

The court said: "It had to be clear to the claimant from the start that this book, and the public knowledge of her birth day along with it,  would not remain limited to a small circle of people interested in films, but be accessible to various libraries etc to a circle of unlimited users."

In a statement Wikimedia, the organisation behind the site, said: "Publicly available sources are critical for the existence of Wikipedia.

"Those who publish information and make it available to the general public should expect a large number of people to be able to find it online, including on Wikipedia, some day."

Dr Schels was described by the court as a "renowned producer of documentaries" who was published one almost annually since 1987. Wikipedia lists her year of birth as 1955.

In 2011 an anonymous actress targeted the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) saying she was losing work because it published her real age.

She lost a battle with the Amazon-owned site in 2013, and her identity was revealed as Huong Hoang, 42 at the time.

In court papers she had said: "In the entertainment industry, youth is king."

Launch for Ghana-made cars

A Ghanaian car manufacturer has officially launched its range of vehicles to great razzmatazz at its Central region plant.

Kantanka Automobile is the only company in the West African nation currently producing cars designed and manufactured in Ghana.

There are three types of vehicles to choose from: an SUV, a pick-up 4x4 and a smaller run-around car.

Mobile Network Plans To Block Adverts On Devices

O2 is "actively testing" the technology that would sniff out and block adverts at a network level before they were served to the device, according to a report by Business Insider.

One ad-blocking startup, Shine, says adverts use up 10-50% of user's data plans, so blocked adverts mean the network would likely have to process less data.

O2 is owned by Spanish firm Telefonica, and is currently being acquired by rival Three to create a huge network to compete with the likes of EE.

It would be the first major attempt at mass ad blocking.

In the past two years the number of people using desktop ad blockers has risen from tens of millions to around 200 million.

Ad-blocking has long been seen as the preserve of internet experts who like to customise their browsing experience.

But the technology really entered the mainstream consciousness when Apple integrated it into its latest mobile operating system, iOS 9, this autumn.

Not all adverts would be blocked under O2's plan - just those that strain network infrastructure and use up data allowances.

Robert Franks, managing director of digital commerce for O2, said: "We are absolutely looking at (network-level ad-blocking) technology.

"We are holding ourselves to the highest standards with our own advertising. We are looking at these technologies to see if they can help our customers with some of the bad practices and disruptive experiences that are happening."

Earlier this week EE boss Olaf Swantee said that he wanted the company to give more control to customers over the number of adverts they see.

Mum And Boyfriend Charged After Baby Died In Oven

Racqual Thompson and Cornell Malone have each been charged with four counts of endangering a child.

Both were arrested on Tuesday morning and remain in jail on bonds totalling $36,000.

J'Zyra Thompson was found with severe burns at Thompson's home in Houston last week and attempted to resuscitate her failed.

One of her three-year-old siblings told Child Protective Services (CPS) they put her in the oven, while the other three-year-old made it "hot".

Court records state that the baby was kicking the oven door while inside, ABC News reported.

Thompson told investigators she had left her four children, including a five-year-old, alone in their apartment on 16 November for around 30 minutes while she picked up Malone from work.

Later that night, the pair left the children alone again after putting them to bed to go and get some pizza and visit Malone's brother.

They were gone for around two hours.

The affidavit read: "Mr Malone stated that when they returned and went into the apartment, he could 'smell something burning'."

Thompson and Malone told police they found the three other children crying and pointing to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, the oven had toppled over, with the door face down on the floor, according to the affidavit.

Malone told investigators he "uprighted the 'range'" and then saw J'Zyra lying on the floor. He said she was "obviously burned and deceased".

The oven had apparently been turned on "all the way".

The three surviving children have been taken into CPS custody.

Thompson is currently eight-and-a-half months pregnant. Both are set to appear in court on Monday.

Mum And Boyfriend Charged After Baby Died In Oven

Racqual Thompson and Cornell Malone have each been charged with four counts of endangering a child.

Both were arrested on Tuesday morning and remain in jail on bonds totalling $36,000.

J'Zyra Thompson was found with severe burns at Thompson's home in Houston last week and attempted to resuscitate her failed.

One of her three-year-old siblings told Child Protective Services (CPS) they put her in the oven, while the other three-year-old made it "hot".

Court records state that the baby was kicking the oven door while inside, ABC News reported.

Thompson told investigators she had left her four children, including a five-year-old, alone in their apartment on 16 November for around 30 minutes while she picked up Malone from work.

Later that night, the pair left the children alone again after putting them to bed to go and get some pizza and visit Malone's brother.

They were gone for around two hours.

The affidavit read: "Mr Malone stated that when they returned and went into the apartment, he could 'smell something burning'."

Thompson and Malone told police they found the three other children crying and pointing to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, the oven had toppled over, with the door face down on the floor, according to the affidavit.

Malone told investigators he "uprighted the 'range'" and then saw J'Zyra lying on the floor. He said she was "obviously burned and deceased".

The oven had apparently been turned on "all the way".

The three surviving children have been taken into CPS custody.

Thompson is currently eight-and-a-half months pregnant. Both are set to appear in court on Monday.