Just days after his stumble into a New York street sign was caught on camera, Kanye West’s stunning $750,000 Lamborghini has been crushed after getting trapped in Kim Kardashian’s electric gates.
The matte black vehicle was being delivered back to Kim Kardashian’s Los Angeles house by a driver following a service when the incident occurred.
Kanye West’s stunning $750,000 Lamborghini has been crushed after getting trapped in Kim Kardashian’s electric gates
Images from the accident scene show the Aventador making its way into the property’s grounds, before the heavy wooden gates closed on the vehicle too early.
A source told TMZ.com: “The driver pulled into the gate but didn’t make it all the way in before the gate closed on both sides of the car.”
According to the website, the car repair shop was quick to send out a mechanic to see how much it would cost to fix the damage.
Kanye West, 35, who was in New York as the incident occurred, has yet to inspect the damage first-hand.
Jane Pitt has paid tribute to her soon to be daughter-in-law Angelina Jolie for her brave decision of having a preventive double mastectomy, even though there have long been rumors that relations between herself and Angelina are strained.
In a touching statement, Jane Pitt said she is “proud” of Angelina Jolie, 37, for having the surgery in order to ensure she is alive to watch her children grow up.
Angelina Jolie with her fiancé Brad Pitt and his mother Jane and father William at the Oscars in 2012
“We’re so very proud of Angie, this means so much to out family especially our grandchildren,” said Brad Pitt’s mother in a statement to People magazine.
“We love her dearly.”
Between early February and late April Angelina Jolie completed three months of surgical procedures to remove both breasts after being advised she was at a high risk of developing breast cancer.
Having watched her mother die at the age of 56 from ovarian cancer, ten years after developing the disease, Angelina Jolie was determined to ensure she had the best chance of avoiding the same fate.
Her brother James Haven also made a statement paying tribute to Angelina Jolie.
“My sister like our mother always put her children first,” he said.
A Japanese study suggests women live longer than men partly because their immune systems age more slowly.
As the body’s defenses weaken over time, men’s increased susceptibility to disease shortens their lifespan, say Japanese scientists.
Tests of immune function could give an indication of true biological age, they report in Immunity & Ageing journal.
The immune system protects the body from infection and cancer, but causes disease when not properly regulated.
The study set out to investigate the controversial question of whether age-related changes in the immune system could be responsible for the difference in average life expectancy between men and women.
Prof. Katsuiku Hirokawa of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University and colleagues analyzed blood samples from 356 healthy men and women aged between 20 and 90.
A Japanese study suggests women live longer than men partly because their immune systems age more slowly
They measured levels of white blood cells and molecules called cytokines which interact with cells of the immune system to regulate the body’s response to disease.
In both sexes, the number of white blood cells per person declined with age as expected from previous studies.
However, closer examination revealed differences between men and women in two key components of the immune system – T-cells, which protect the body from infection, and B-cells, which secrete antibodies.
The rate of decline of most T-cell and B-cell lymphocytes was faster in men, while men also showed a more rapid age-related decline in two cytokines.
Two specific types of immune system cell that attack invaders – CD4 T-cells and natural killer cells – increased in number with age, with a higher rate of increase in women than in men.
The researchers believe a person’s immunological parameters could provide an indication of their true biological age.
“Age-related changes in various immunological parameters differ between men and women,” Prof. Katsuiku Hirokawa and colleagues report in the online journal Immunity & Ageing.
“Our findings indicate that the slower rate of decline in these immunological parameters in women than that in men is consistent with the fact that women live longer than do men.”
Bangladesh has ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from its coastal areas threatened by Cyclone Mahasen.
The Bangladeshi authorities have raised the danger level to seven out of 10 for low-lying areas around Chittagong and the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar.
The cyclone, heading north-east through the Bay of Bengal, is estimated to reach land on Thursday.
Burma is also threatened and evacuation efforts are under way there.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims living in camps in low-lying areas of Burma’s Rakhine state are feared to be at risk.
Bangladesh has ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from its coastal areas threatened by Cyclone Mahasen
They were displaced by ethnic violence last year and many are reluctant to move from the camps.
The country’s National Planning Minister, Tin Naing Thein, said more than 150,000 people had been relocated to higher ground. The government said a fifth of those were Rohingyas.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said the storm could create a surge 2 m high in coastal districts and residents are being urged to make for cyclone shelters.
The airport in Cox’s Bazar has closed and Chittagong airport is to shut over the next few hours.
The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Cyclone Mahasen appeared to have weakened to a Category One storm.
But the UN still described it as “life-threatening” for 8.2 million people in Bangladesh, Burma and north-east India.
At least 50 Rohingya Muslims were feared drowned on Tuesday when boats evacuating them from the path of the cyclone capsized off western Burma.
More than 100,000 people died in 2008 when Cyclone Nargis devastated many of Burma’s coastal villages.
France has entered its second recession in four years after the economy shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2013, according to official figures.
The country’s economy shrank by the same amount in the last quarter of 2012. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
France has record unemployment and low business and consumer confidence.
German figures, also released, showed its economy, the eurozone’s strongest, grew by just 0.1% in Q1 2013.
France entered its worst recession since World War II in 2009. Although it was thought to have been in recession in 2012, these figures have now been revised to show only one quarter of negative growth.
The news comes on the first anniversary of Francois Hollande being sworn in as president.
Earlier this month, the European Commission warned that France would enter recession this year and said the eurozone’s economy would shrink by 0.4%.
France has entered its second recession in four years after the economy shrank by 0.2 percent in Q1 2013
The European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates at its last meeting to a record low of 0.5% in an attempt to stimulate growth.
In France, the rate of unemployment is running at 10.6% and is forecast to rise further next year.
Its deficit is also expected to rise sharply, the commission says, to 3.9% of GDP – well above the EU deficit target of 3%.
But French unemployment is below the eurozone average, which was 11.4% in 2012 and is expected to hit an average of 12.2% this year. In both Greece and Spain, it is expected to peak at 27%.
France this week passed a range of measures aimed at stopping the rise in unemployment by reforming the country’s labor laws.
These include measures to make it easier for workers to change jobs and for companies to fire employees.
The French economy has performed better than other eurozone members, including Spain and Italy, but it has not moved as quickly to reform its economy.
One of the new bill’s main measures is to allow companies to cut workers’ salaries or hours temporarily during times of sluggish economic performance, something that is common in Germany.
The figure for German growth, the largest and still the strongest economy in the 17-strong eurozone, was far weaker than expected. Economists had expected to see growth of 0.3% in the first quarter.
Annual figures from the Statistics Office also show the German economy has shrunk by 1.4% when compared with a year ago.
But in a statement it said this was partly due to severe winter weather: “The German economy is only slowly picking up steam. The extreme winter weather played a role in this weak growth.”
Taiwan is suspending hiring Filipino workers and recalling its envoy amid a row over the killing of fisherman Hung Shih-cheng.
Taiwan said the move showed President Ma Ying-jeou’s “strong dissatisfaction” with Manila’s handling of the case.
Hung Shih-cheng was shot by the Philippine coast guard last week in waters both sides claim.
Early on Wednesday, the Philippine envoy in Taipei apologized over the incident – after a three-day deadline set by Taiwan for an apology expired.
Antonio Basilio, head of the Philippine Representative Office in Taiwan, said Manila had agreed to compensate the fisherman’s family and conduct a joint investigation into the incident.
“The Filipino people and the government understand the hurt and grief that the Taiwanese people have felt as result of the death of one of their own fellow citizens,” Antonio Basilio said.
But the Taiwanese leader felt the apology did not come from a high enough authority and lacked “sincerity”, his spokeswoman said.
President Ma Ying-jeou had also asked Antonio Basilio to return to the Philippines to “help properly handle” the case, she added.
Taiwan is suspending hiring Filipino workers and recalling its envoy amid a row over the killing of fisherman Hung Shih-cheng
Later on Wednesday, Taiwan’s PM Jiang Yi-huah told reporters that he was dissatisfied with the apology because it came from the representative office, not the Philippine government, and because the statement had been changed several times.
“Philippine civil servants killed a person and damaged the boat, the Philippine government cannot avoid responsibility,” he said.
Taiwan has demanded a “formal apology” from Manila, compensation for the victim’s family, investigation and punishment for those responsible for the shooting, and the commencement of bilateral fishing talks.
It says it will consider adopting a second wave of sanctions against the Philippines if it does not receive a satisfactory reply by 18:00 local time on Wednesday.
These include issuing a travel warning to discourage Taiwanese people from visiting the Philippines, stopping all high-level exchanges and carrying out a military exercise in the disputed waters.
The Philippines’ special envoy Amadeo Perez is expected to arrive in Taipei on Wednesday to meet the family of the fishermen and express “deep regret and apology from the people of the Philippines”, Antonio Basilio said.
There are about 88,000 Filipino migrant workers in Taiwan, most of whom work in the manufacturing sector.
Taiwan’s labor office receives around 3,000 work applications from the Philippines each month.
Hung Shih-cheng, the 65-year-old fisherman, was shot dead on May 9 when the coastguard vessel opened fire on his boat.
He was in waters south-east of Taiwan and north of the Philippines, an area considered by both countries to be their 200 nautical mile-from-shore exclusive economic zone.
The Philippine coast guard said its crew believed he was trying to ram their vessel – claims the Taiwanese fishermen have denied.
Maritime tensions in the South China Sea have been heightened in recent months. China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei have competing territorial claims in the region.
These disputes have existed for years but in recent months China has been taking a more assertive stance – prompting a robust response from some nations.
Jon Voight, Angelina Jolie’s father, revealed he learned about her preventive double mastectomy on the internet along with the rest of the world.
Jon Voight, 74, who reconciled with Angelina Jolie after a 10 year feud in 2011 praised his “extraordinary” daughter but was understandably surprised – especially as he had seen Angelina just one day before her announcement in the New York Times.
“My love and admiration for my daughter can’t be explained in words,” the actor told the New York Daily News.
“I saw her two days ago with my son Jamie. We all got together for his birthday, with her and Brad [Pitt]. But I didn’t know. It wasn’t obvious at all.
“I found out [Tuesday] morning. I was as surprised as anyone and deeply moved by the way she’s handled this. She’s a very extraordinary person, the way she examined it and what she shared.”
Angelina Jolie made the decision to have the surgery after learning she is a carrier of the BRCA1 gene and had an 87% chance of contracting breast cancer and a 50% risk of getting ovarian cancer.
She continued working throughout three months of procedures and kept them a secret from everyone other than her fiancé Brad Pitt, who was seen leaving a Hollywood studio on Tuesday, and their six children.
Jon Voight, Angelina Jolie’s father, revealed he learned about her preventive double mastectomy on the internet along with the rest of the world
Jon Voight says he “absolutely” respects Angelina Jolie’s choice to keep her decision from him for that time.
“I completely understand,” the actor explained.
“I want the focus to be on the inspiration.”
Jon Voight revealed he spoke to Angelina Jolie on Tuesday and she talked him through what it all means.
“She just explained to me and educated me on this stuff,” he said.
Jon Voight fell out with Angelina Jolie in 2002 when he accused her of having “serious mental problems”, while Angelina criticized him for having an affair behind her mother’s back.
It was Angelina Jolie’s fiancé Brad Pitt who eventually engineered their reconciliation and acted as a go-between.
Speaking in October 2011 Jon Voight claimed he’d had an emotional epiphany and that he began living for his family after everything changed “in a moment”.
“I suddenly saw things differently and everything shifted. That one moment changed my whole life,” he said.
“It gave me back my daughter and my family. Being reunited with my Angie is very precious to me. I adore my grandchildren, they are my great love. It makes me so emotional and grateful.”
Google has been ordered by a German federal court to clean up the auto-complete results its search engine suggests.
The court said Google must ensure terms generated by auto-complete are not offensive or defamatory.
The court case was started by an unnamed German businessman who found that Google.de linked him with “scientology” and “fraud”.
Google must now remove defamatory word combinations when told about them, said the court.
A person’s privacy would be violated if the associations conjured up by auto-complete were untrue, the federal court said in a statement about the ruling.
However, it added, this did not mean that Google had to sanitize its entire index.
Bettina Wulff, wife of former German president Christian Wulff, sued Google because auto-complete suggested words linking her to escort services
“The operator is, as a basic principle, only responsible when it gets notice of the unlawful violation of personal rights,” it said.
The ruling on auto-complete overturns two earlier decisions by lower German courts.
In the past, Google has defended itself by arguing that it has no control over the combinations of words that auto-complete suggests. Instead, it said, these were automatically generated by the frequency with which other people were looking for such keywords.
A Google spokesman said he was “disappointed and surprised” by the court’s decision, in an interview with Bloomberg. He said it was “incomprehensible” that Google was going to be held liable for the searches carried out by users.
The ruling could also have a bearing on another case involving auto-complete. Bettina Wulff, wife of former German president Christian Wulff, sued Google because auto-complete suggested words linking her to escort services.
Bettina Wulff denies ever working as a prostitute and has fought several legal cases over the accusation. The case against Google is due to be heard soon in a Hamburg court.
Japan’s shares have climbed past the 15,000 mark for the first time since January 2008, as the yen continues to weaken – boosting the earnings potential for exporters.
The benchmark Nikkei index rose 2% to 15,096, with carmaker Toyota and consumer electronics giant Sony leading the gains.
The Nikkei is up 46% since the start of 2013.
Japan’s central bank has embarked on an aggressive plan to weaken the yen.
A weaker Japanese currency translates into higher earnings for companies when the funds are repatriated back into the country. It also makes their products more competitive overseas.
Japan’s shares have climbed past the 15,000 mark for the first time since January 2008, as the yen continues to weaken
The yen is at a four-and-a-half year low against the US dollar, trading at the 102 mark in Asia.
The currency has declined by more than 20% since Japanese PM Shinzo Abe took office in December last year.
Shinzo Abe has backed the central bank’s ultra easy monetary policy, which calls for pumping more money into the Japanese system.
The move is aimed at weakening the currency but also raising consumer prices in the hopes of boosting consumption at home.
Japan’s economy has been battling nearly two decades of falling prices, known as deflation, which discourages spending by companies and consumers as they hold out for a better deal.
Shares of Isuzu Motors climbed 20% after it posted a record full year net profit of $946 million, driven by strong overseas sales.
Sony shares are also surging after one of the company’s biggest shareholders suggested the firm should spin off up to 20% of its entertainment business, and use the funds to shore up its struggling electronics arm.
Angelina Jolie underwent a double mastectomy after learning she had an 87% chance of contracting breast cancer, but despite the stress put on her own body, her main concern was maintaining a sense of normality for her and fiancé Brad Pitt’s six children.
A source has revealed that Angelina Jolie, 37, did everything within her power to ensure the couple’s children, Maddox, 11, Pax, 9, Zahara, 8, Shiloh, 6, and 4-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, led normal lives as their mother underwent three months of secret operations.
The source told People.com: “Things have appeared normal. The kids have kept their schedules as usual. They have been in school during the day and have attended after-school activities like they always do.”
Angelina Jolie made the brave decision to have the procedure after doctors told her she was a carrier of the BRCA1 cancer gene.
The news was made all the more personal by the fact that Angelina Jolie lost her mother Marcheline Bertrand to ovarian cancer when she was just 56.
Revealing her decision to have the surgery in the New York Times, Angelina Jolie said it was the support of her six children and fiancé Brad Pitt which got her through the three months of secret procedures.
Angelina Jolie kept her family life as normal as possible for the sake of her children as she underwent a double mastectomy
In the editorial piece in the New York Times entitled My Medical Choice, Angelina Jolie wrote: “I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries.
“We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.”
Brad Pitt, 49, later released his own statement praising his “heroic Angie” following her difficult decision.
In a statement to London’s Evening Standard, Brad Pitt said: “Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie’s choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic. I thank our medical team for their care and focus.
“All I want for is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children. This is a happy day for our family.”
Angelina Jolie also revealed she is proud of her children for being so brave during her operations, which began on February 16th with the initial removal, before she had the reconstruction operation on April 20th.
The brave actress writes: “It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can.”
Following the operations, Angelina Jolie’s risk of contracting breast cancer has now dropped to under 5%.
Ariel Castro’s brothers, Onil and Pedro, spoke of how they had no idea why they were being arrested for keeping three girls in captivity in Cleveland for nearly a decade.
Onil and Pedro Castro also revealed that they saw Jocelyn, the daughter that Ariel fathered with Amanda Berry during her captivity, saying that on two different occasions they saw Ariel bring the young girl to fast food restaurants- one time at McDonald’s and another at Burger King. Each time, he said that the girl was his girlfriend’s daughter.
Onil Castro was in the car with his brother Ariel when police pulled them over in a McDonalds parking lot and his first thought was that Ariel had run a red light. Pedro Castro was woken up at his home by police, and he thought that they were arresting him for an outstanding open container warrant.
They were both far off base, as they only learned when they arrived at the police station and were questioned separately about the three young women that Ariel Castro had secretly kept in his house.
Pedro Castro said that once at the station, he asked what he was being charged with and a police officer wrote the word “kidnapping” down on a piece of paper and handed it to him.
“I didn’t have my reading glasses, I looked and I said, <<Oh, open containers>>. She said <<No, read it again>>. And I said <<Oh! Kidnapping! What’s this? Kidnapping? I’m thinking kidnapping. Who did I kidnap?>>” he told CNN.
Pedro Castro was similarly confused, and the only one to have a clue of what was going on was Ariel, who remains behind bars after his bail was set at $8 million.
“He goes <<Onil, I’m sorry. You didn’t know nothing about this, Onil. I’m sorry, Onil>>. And that was it. And then that’s when I broke down on my way over there. I said, <<What did my brother do? What did he do?>>” Onil Castro told CNN.
“When he walked past me, he goes, <<Onil, you’re never going to see me again. I love you bro>>. And that was it. And he put his fist up for a bump.”
They consider their brother to be a “monster” and said that one of the worst moments for them came when they realized that Gina DeJesus was one of the kidnapping victims since they are friends with her father, Felix.
Ariel Castro’s brothers, Onil and Pedro, spoke of how they had no idea why they were being arrested for keeping three girls in captivity in Cleveland for nearly a decade
“I knew him for a long time and when I found out that Ariel had Gina, I just broke down its just shocking. Ariel, we know this guy for a long time and you got his daughter and you go round like nothing, you even went to the vigils, you had posters, you give his mama a hug and you got his daughters captive?” Pedro Castro said in disbelief in the interview that aired Monday morning.
Pedro Castro told of how one time he saw Ariel bring a little girl to the local McDonalds – the girl that is now known to be Jocelyn who the 52-year-old fathered with his kidnapping victim Amanda Berry.
“I seen Ariel with a little girl at McDonald’s and I asked him who’s that and he said <<This is a girlfriend’s of mine>>,” Pedro Castro told CNN.
When he saw the same girl at Burger King with Ariel on a different occasion, he asked where the mother was but Ariel just said she was busy.
The brothers said that they had no idea about the years of abuse that went on at their brother’s house because they never had a thorough tour of his home on Seymour Avenue.
On the rare occasions that they did visit his home, they stayed in the kitchen and could not see into the other areas because Ariel Castro had put up curtains blocking the other rooms. He explained that it was an energy saving technique.
“The reason why we would go in the kitchen, because he had alcohol. And he would take me in the kitchen, give me a shot,” Pedro Castro said.
Other ways that he would keep his guests from suspecting any criminal activity was to constantly have a radio or TV on so that it would drown out any background noise, and they would never spend much time actually indoors, opting to eat out on the steps instead.
The brothers, who were arrested along with Ariel Castro but later released due to a lack of evidence, say that since their release from prison, they have been faced with online death threats, a break-in at one of their homes, and vandalism.
When asked by CNN reporter Martin Savidge if the public would always suspect they had a role in the kidnappings, they answered “yes” in unison.
Onil Castro said: “The people out there who know me, they know that Onil Castro is not that person, has nothing to do with that – would never even think of something like that. I was a very liked person [before the arrest], never had any enemies.
“[There is] no reason for anybody to think that I would ever do something like that. It was a shock to all my friends. They couldn’t believe it.”
Pedro Castro added: “I couldn’t ever think of doing anything like that. If I knew that my brother was doing this, in a minute I would have called the cops; cause that ain’t right. But yeah, it’s going to haunt me down. Cause people are going to think Pedro had something to do with this and Pedro don’t have anything to do this.”
They said that even though Ariel Castro is their brother, they would have had no choice but to turn him in – had they known.
“If I knew, I would have reported it, brother or no brother.”
Ariel Castro is suspected of holding Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight captive in his home for a decade.
Authorities say he kidnapped all three women, raped them and fathered a child with one.
The women were found May 6 after one escaped and called 911.
The Castro brothers were initially taken into custody but released Thursday after investigators said there was no evidence against them.
Russia has announced it will expel US diplomat Ryan Fogle briefly detained in Moscow for allegedly trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer as a spy.
Ryan Fogle, named as CIA agent, was held overnight after he was apparently arrested wearing blond wig.
He has been declared “persona non grata” for “provocative actions in the spirit of the Cold War”, the Russian foreign ministry said on its website.
The US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, had been summoned, it added.
Ryan Fogle is said to have worked as third political secretary at the US embassy in Moscow.
A state department spokesperson said: “We can confirm that an officer at our US embassy in Moscow was briefly detained and was released. We have seen the Russian foreign ministry announcement and have no further comment at this time.”
The diplomat was reportedly arrested with a large sum of money, technical devices and written instructions for the Russian agent he had tried to recruit.
Photos purporting to show Ryan Fogle’s detention have been widely circulated in the Russian media.
The foreign ministry said it had ordered Ryan Fogle to leave the country, in a statement posted online on Tuesday afternoon.
“Such provocative actions in the spirit of the Cold War will by no means promote the strengthening of mutual trust,” the ministry said.
Russia has announced it will expel US diplomat Ryan Fogle briefly detained in Moscow for allegedly trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer as a spy
The incident creates an uncomfortable atmosphere at a time when the US and Russia are involved in delicate diplomacy over Syria and in taking cautious steps towards defrosting relations.
However, the incident is unlikely to have any long-term political consequences, as both countries know that espionage did not end with the Cold War.
Russia’s Federal Security Service earlier released images allegedly showing Ryan Fogle during and after his arrest.
Wearing a blue checked shirt and a plain baseball cap, he was shown being held on the ground with his hands bound, then being escorted away.
Another photo showed him sitting at desk, his hat removed.
Possessions said to be Ryan Fogle’s are laid out on a table. They include a sum of money in 500-euro banknotes and two wigs, one of which he was apparently wearing at the time of his detention.
Also on the table are a compass, map, knife, dark glasses and small mobile phone.
“FSB counter-intelligence agents detained a CIA staff member who had been working under the cover of third political secretary of the US embassy in Moscow,” the FSB said.
“At the moment of detention, special technical equipment was discovered, written instructions for the Russian citizen being recruited, as well as a large sum of money and means for altering appearance.”
Russian state TV has displayed a piece of paper, which it said was Ryan Fogle’s letter to the Russian officer.
Addressing the recipient as “Dear friend”, the letter offers $100,000 “to discuss your experience, expertise and co-operation”.
It goes on to say: “We can offer up to $1 million a year for long-term co-operation, with extra bonuses if we receive some helpful information.
“This is a down payment from someone who is very impressed with your professionalism and who would greatly appreciate your co-operation in the future.”
The letter is simply signed “Your friends”.
The last major espionage case involving the two countries took place in 2010, when 10 people pleaded guilty to spying on the US for Russia.
The alleged agents were deported from the US in exchange for four people the Russians claimed had been spying for the West, in the biggest spy swap since the Cold War.
Last year, a former UK government official admitted that Britain had been caught spying after Russia exposed its use of a fake rock in Moscow to hide electronic equipment.
Shortly after the 2006 incident, Russia introduced tough new legislation on foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly accused Britain, the US and other countries of financing NGOs to meddle in Russian politics.
Last July, Vladimir Putin passed a controversial law requiring all NGOs that receive overseas funding to register as “foreign agents”.
Two months ago, Russian security services launched a series of investigations into foreign-funded NGOs, raiding their offices and seizing computers and documents.
The apparent crackdown drew widespread international criticism.
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three states after a spate of deadly attacks by Islamist militant groups.
In a televised address, the president said he had given the military powers to take over security in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
Goodluck Jonathan also ordered more troops to be sent to the north-eastern states.
Islamist group Boko Haram has been blamed for most of the violence, killing some 2,000 people since 2010.
Nigeria is also affected by a spate of conflicts over land, religion and oil.
In the latest violence, 53 people were killed and 13 villages burnt in central Nigeria’s Benue state on Tuesday.
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three states after a spate of deadly attacks by Islamist militant groups
The conflict, which started last week, is said to have been caused by a long-running dispute over land ownership between cattle herders and farmers.
In a pre-recorded address broadcast on Tuesday, President Goodluck Jonathan said: “What we are facing is not just militancy or criminality, but a rebellion and insurgency by terrorist groups which pose a very serious threat to national unity and territorial integrity.”
Referring to recent attacks by “insurgents and terrorists” on government buildings and killings of officials and other civilians, the president said that “these actions amount to a declaration of war”.
“We will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice,” he said.
At the same time, Goodluck Jonathan stressed that – despite the state of emergency – politicians in the three states would remain in their posts.
Goodluck Jonathan also admitted that the government was not in control of the whole country.
This is not the first time President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency, but this is a clear admission that far from being weakened by the army offensive, the threat of the Islamist militants is growing.
Last week, Goodluck Jonathan had to cut short a trip to South Africa to deal with the growing violence.
Chris Brown must remove the graffiti art along the front wall of his Hollywood home after his neighbour complained about the artwork describing it as a “sharp-toothed, red-eyed goblin eyesore” that was scaring passing children.
LA city code officials responded to complaints by threatening a $376 fine for excess signage.
Chris Brown, 24, has been given 30 days to remove the art but his lawyer says “he’s not backing down”.
Lawyer Mark Geragos claims Chris Brown’s neighbours were harassing him and had also called animal control and complained about the star’s parking.
Chris Brown must remove the graffiti art along the front wall of his Hollywood home after his neighbour complained about the artwork
“They are trying to suspend the first amendment,” he said.
The neighbours say they are happy to have him but hope the fine will make him “tone it down and be a better neighbour”.
Patti Negri, president of the Hollywood Dell Civic Association, told the LA Times: “There are lots of babies, lots of children, and they’re literally frightened.
“It’s like devils on the wall – big scary eyes and big scary teeth, and just the whole vibe is not what we’re used to.”
Django Unchained has reopened in cinemas in China, a month after it was pulled for “technical reasons”.
A manager at a UME Cineplex cinema in Beijing said: “The new version is one minute shorter than the previous one.”
He speculated that a nude scene may have been cut.
Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning film’s cancellation in April led to speculation that it did not meet censorship regulations required by cultural authorities.
Django Unchained stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a plantation owner and Jamie Foxx as a freed slave who trains to become a bounty hunter and demands his wife’s freedom before the US Civil War.
Django Unchained has reopened in cinemas in China, a month after it was pulled for technical reasons
Distributor Sony Pictures said Quentin Tarantino had agreed to “slight adjustments” to reduce the violence prior to its initial release in China last month.
Sony Pictures executive Zhang Miao said the changes to the film included “tuning the blood to a darker colour” and “lowering the height of the splatter of blood” in an interview with China’s Southern Metropolis Daily.
Django Unchained, the first of Quentin Tarantino’s to be released in China, had been cleared by the country’s rigorous censors, who generally remove violence, sex and politically edgy content.
Earlier this year, some Chinese cinema-goers were left confused because of cuts to the James Bond film Skyfall that included unflattering references to the sex trade in the Chinese territory of Macau.
Meanwhile, Cloud Atlas with Tom Hanks was shown in Chinese cinemas without 38 minutes of footage that included gay and straight love scenes.
Aubrey Woods, known for his roles in Doctor Who and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, has died aged 85.
Aubrey Woods played the sweet shop owner who sang The Candy Man in the 1971 film based on Roald Dahl’s classic book.
Aubrey Woods, known for his roles in Doctor Who and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, has died aged 85
The London-born actor also appeared as The Controller in 1972 Doctor Who serial Day of the Daleks.
Aubrey Woods’ stage roles included the parts of Jacob and Potiphar in the 1991 West End revival of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
He died in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, his wife Gaynor has announced.
Aubrey Woods’ career began at the age of 17 when he played Smike in the film The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. In the 1960s he then spent three years on stage as Fagin in another Dickens adaptation, Oliver!
His other roles included the theatre musical The Four Musketeers and the radio version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, while he also wrote the play Trelawny, which was in the West End in the 1970s.
Amanda Berry may start a new life near her extended family in Tennessee after escaping the abductor who held her captive in Cleveland for ten years.
Amanda Berry, now 27, vanished in Cleveland, Ohio, on the day before her 17th birthday on April 21, 2003, shortly after calling her sister to say she was getting a lift home from her job at Burger King.
She incredible emerged alive earlier this month when she managed to escape from the basement of a house in Cleveland where she had been sexually abused by her captor Ariel Castro and gave birth to her 6-year-old daughter Jocelyn.
The other two women, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michele Knight, 32, who disappeared from the same block as Amanda Berry in 2004 and 2002 were also rescued from the property.
Amanda Berry’s relatives now hope she will move to Tennessee so she can be closer to her father and extended family.
Her uncle, Curtis Berry, 50, from Elizabethton, Tennessee, told nydailynews.com: “She has more kin here than anywhere else. This is her home.”
Amanda Berry may start a new life near her extended family in Tennessee after escaping the abductor who held her captive in Cleveland for ten years
Amanda Berry has also been to visit the grave of her mother Louwana Miller, who never gave up hope her daughter was alive, for the first time since she passed away.
Her alleged abductor Ariel Castro, 52, is currently being held in prison awaiting trial.
A brief video filmed by Jasmina Baldrich shows the very first image of Amanda Berry after she broke out of the house of horrors after being held captive for a decade.
Amanda Berry can be seen clutching her six-year-old daughter Jocelyn in her arms and holding Charles Ramsey’s hand for comfort. Charles Ramsey was later hailed has a hero for responding to Berry’s cries for help and phoning 911.
Cops can be seen prying open the front door of Ariel Castro’s house. Once open, they flood into the home, some reaching for their handguns.
Jasmina Baldrich and her friend Ashley Colon were driving down Seymour Avenue on Monday evening when they were suddenly surrounded by police cruisers.
The revelation that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were alive and had been kept as sex slaves for a decade shocked and horrified the nation, but it was seen as a miracle in Cleveland.
The three women have hired attorneys and a PR firm to represent them as the entire world waits for them to make their first public appearances.
Their lawyer addressed the media on Sunday morning with a brief public statement saying the girls were thankful for the support from the community.
However, they asked for privacy and said they would not give any public interviews until after Ariel Castro’s trial.
Doctor Who fans in the US are being urged to keep the plot of Saturday’s finale secret after DVDs of the series were sent out early in error.
It appears “a small number” of fans had been sent pre-ordered DVDs three weeks early.
The show’s producers asked those with the DVD not to reveal plot details which would ruin the “viewing pleasure” of others.
They promised footage of current Doctor Matt Smith with predecessor David Tennant “if everyone keeps the secret”.
“A small number of US Doctor Who fans have received their series seven part two DVD three weeks early,” BBC Worldwide said in a statement.
“We are asking fans who may have the discs not to divulge plot details so that fellow fans who have yet to see the episodes do not have their viewing pleasure ruined.”
The statement said BBC Worldwide was “currently investigating how this has happened”.
Doctor Who fans in the US are being urged to keep the plot of Saturday’s finale secret after DVDs of the series were sent out early in error
It added executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat had promised the special video featuring Matt Smith and David Tennant if the secret was kept.
Saturday’s episode of the BBC One show, The Name of the Doctor – written by Steven Moffat – comes ahead of a 50th anniversary 3D special, due to air on November 23.
David Tennant and Billie Piper, who played his on-screen companion Rose Tyler, are among those who will guest star.
David Tennant starred in Doctor Who from 2005 to 2010, while Billie Piper first appeared in 2005 opposite Christopher Eccleston, who played the ninth Doctor.
In May 2011, Steven Moffat criticized those “who call themselves fans” who revealed crucial plot lines ahead of transmission.
“You can imagine how much I hate them,” he told BBC Radio 5 live.
“I wish they could go and be fans of something else.”
He said it was “heartbreaking” when a fan, who had been invited to a press screening but asked not to give away spoilers, had posted the entire plot of two episodes on an internet forum “because you’re trying to tell stories and stories depend on surprise”.
“So to have some twit who came to a press launch, write up a story in the worst, most ham-fisted English you can imagine, and put it on the internet [is heartbreaking].”
The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who was marked at Sunday night’s TV BAFTAs with a video montage while Jenna-Louise Coleman, who plays current assistant Clara Oswald, presented an award.
Brad Pitt was so taken by the jam of one French delicacy that he jumped on a plane to the town in which the $19 pots are made.
Brad Pitt, 49, flew to Alsace with his eldest son Maddox, 11, and found the mysterious “Jam Fairy” aka Christine Ferber.
Christine Ferber – considered the Heston Blumenthal of jam-making – and her team prepares these confitures in the village of Niedermorschwihr, located in the heart of the Alsatian vineyards.
From classic recipes such as blueberry jam to original concoctions of raspberry jam with star anise it’s no wonder Brad Pitt tracked down the bespoke jam-maker.
But he didn’t just pick up a mammoth order, but stayed with Christine Ferber, 53, to learn more about the art of preserve-making with his adopted son.
Brad Pitt was so taken by Christine Ferber’s jam that he jumped on a plane to Alsace where the $19 pots are made
A source told the Mirror: “Brad is very particular about what he eats but fell in lust with this jam.
“He turned detective and discovered Christine has a little shop in the Alsace region, where she makes the artisan jams. It is very well known among the jam-making fraternity.”
“They had a brilliant time, tasting loads of jams and Christine’s other homemade delicacies. They came away with dozens of pots.”
The source also said that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have designated a room in their Brignoles villa to house the $1,900 worth of preserves.
Brad Pitt may well be looking to bring out his own range soon, with the insider claiming he is “beginning to experiment with recipes of his own”.
Maybe then his preserves will stand on the breakfast trays of the George V hotel in Paris and London’s five-star Connaught hotel in Mayfair, just like Christine Ferber’s artisan creations do.
Google has revealed for the first time what view users will get through its “Project Glass” wearable computer.
1. Google Glass responds to voice commands
Google Glass will perform many of the same tasks as smartphones, except the spectacles respond to voice commands instead of fingers touching a display screen.
2. Run on Google’s Android
The glasses include a tiny display screen attached to a rim above the right eye and run on Google’s Android operating system for mobile devices.
3. Take picture or record videos while on the move
Because no hands are required to operate them, Google Glass will make it easier for people to take pictures or record video wherever they might be or whatever they might be doing.
4. Online searches can be easily conducted
Online searches also can be more easily conducted by just telling Google Glass to look up a specific piece of information. Google’s Android system already has a voice search function on smartphones and tablet computers.
Google Glass will perform many of the same tasks as smartphones, except the spectacles respond to voice commands instead of fingers touching a display screen
5. Google Glass can synch to the Internet
The eyewear features built-in camera, microphone and speaker technology and can synch to the Internet using wireless connections.
6. Video through the eyes of wearers can be streamed live
As with the sky divers, cyclists, and wall-walkers who took part in the Google developers conference stunt, video through the eyes of wearers can be streamed live on Google’s social network.
7. Google Glass will come in 5 colors
Google said all of the footage was captured through Project Glass, which will come in five colors – black, gray, blue, red or white and have removable shades.
8. Google Glass for mass market will cost less than $1,500
Google co-founder Sergey Brin said the mass-market version of Google Glass will cost less than $1,500, but more than a smartphone.
9. Google first began developing glasses in 2010
Sergey Brin has been overseeing the work on Google Glass, which the company first began developing in 2010 as part of a secretive company division now known as Google X.
10. Google Glass to hit market in 2014
Google Glass is at the forefront of a new wave of technology known as “wearable computing’ and should hit the market in a little more than a year. The company hopes it will someday make fumbling with smartphones obsolete.
Researchers have found that a certain type of bacteria that live in the gut have been used to reverse obesity and Type-2 diabetes in animal studies.
Research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that a broth containing a single species of bacteria could dramatically alter the health of obese mice.
It is thought to change the gut lining and the way food is absorbed.
Similar tests now need to take place in people to see if the same bacteria can be used to shed the pounds.
The human body is teeming with bacteria – the tiny organisms outnumber human cells in the body 10 to one.
And there is growing evidence that this collection of bacteria or “microbiome” affects health.
Studies have shown differences between the types and numbers of bacteria in the guts of lean and obese people.
Researchers have found that a certain type of bacteria that live in the gut have been used to reverse obesity and Type-2 diabetes in animal studies
Meanwhile gastric bypass operations have been shown to change the balance of bacteria in the gut.
Researchers at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Belgium, worked with a single species of bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila. It normally makes up 3-5% of gut bacteria, but its levels fall in obesity.
Mice on a high fat diet – which led them to put on two to three times more fat than normal, lean, mice – were fed the bacteria.
The mice remained bigger than their lean cousins, but had lost around half of their extra weight despite no other changes to their diet.
They also had lower levels of insulin resistance, a key symptom of Type-2 diabetes.
Prof. Patrice Cani, from the Catholic University of Louvain, said: “Of course it is an improvement, we did not completely reverse the obesity, but it is a very strong decrease in the fat mass.
“It is the first demonstration that there is a direct link between one specific species and improving metabolism.”
Adding the bacteria increased the thickness of the gut’s mucus barrier, which stops some material passing from the gut to the blood. It also changed the chemical signals coming from the digestive system – which led to changes in the way fat was processed elsewhere in the body.
Similar results were achieved by adding a type of fiber to diets which led to an increase in the levels of Akkermansia muciniphila.
Prof. Patrice Cani said it was “surprising” that just one species, out of the thousands in the gut, could have such an effect.
He said this was a “first step” towards “eventually using these bacteria as prevention or treatment of obesity and Type-2 diabetes” and that some form of bacteria-based therapy would be used “in the near future”.
The French government is considering introducing a 1% tax on the sale of smartphones and tablets to help fund local film, music and images.
The proposal estimates some 86 million euros ($112 million) could be raised per year.
The bid is based on France’s so-called “cultural exception” policy, which aims to protect culture from market forces and foreign competition.
Broadcasters already pay fees to fund cultural projects but firms like Google and Apple are currently exempt.
The proposal was released as part of a government-funded report specifically examining the rise of digital content.
The study, led by the former CEO of French pay-TV channel Canal Plus, Pierre Lescure, proposed a total of 75 measures to “protect the cultural exception in the face of digital innovation”.
The French government is considering introducing a 1 percent tax on the sale of smartphones and tablets to help fund local film, music and images
The report said taxing internet devices could help fund culture because consumers were spending more money on hardware than on content.
“Today we have extremely sophisticated technological equipment that is extremely expensive to buy, but which contributes nothing to the financing of the works that circulate on that same equipment,” Culture Minister Aurelie Filipetti said following the release of the report.
“Companies that make these tablets must, in a minor way, be made to contribute part of the revenue from their sales to help creators.”
She added that the cultural exception remained “a battle for France”.
Lawmakers will spend the summer reviewing legislation based on the report’s recommendations.
The “culture tax” was likely to be included in a budget law to be submitted to parliament in November, Aurelie Filipetti said.
Last year, France became embroiled in a row with Google over government plans to tax the company’s revenue made from posting ads alongside online search results.
The dispute was settled in February after Google agreed to create a 60m euro fund to help French media organizations improve their internet operations.
The cultural exception policy, introduced in France in 1993, asserts that cultural goods are to be treated differently from other commercial goods.
In particular, it is aimed at shielding French culture from the spread of US films.
Lindsay Marie Boehner, the daughter of House Speaker John Boehner, has tied the knot with her Jamaican-born love Dominic Lakhan in an intimate sunset ceremony set amid a lush Florida garden.
Lindsay Marie Boehner, 35, married construction worker Dominic Lakhan in a flowing white strapless gown that showed off a huge tattoo etched across her arm.
Dominic Lakhan, 38, looked smart in a grey suit with his waist-length dreadlocks on display as he waited for John Boehner to walk Lindsay Marie down the aisle at Sundy House in Delray Beach on Friday.
The couple said their vows with the House Speaker looking proudly on – despite the fact Dominic Lakhan had previously arrested for possessing marijuana.
Dominic Lakhan was arrested in 2006 and this may not have gone down well with John Boehner, a Republican who is a staunch opponent to legalizing the drug.
However, if there was any tension it was firmly pushed to one side as John Boehner, who had donned an orange tie for the occasion, wore a grey suit to match his new son-in-law.
About 60 guests gathered at the wedding, including Lindsay Marie’s younger sister Tricia, 32, who married James Kinney in 2011.
John Boehner and his wife Debbie were later seen joining their daughter for pictures at the venue which features pretty ponds.
Lindsay Marie Boehner, the daughter of House Speaker John Boehner, has tied the knot with her Jamaican-born love Dominic Lakhan in an intimate sunset ceremony
The newlyweds had registered at Macy’s for wedding gifts – but kept things low-key, with the most expensive gift being a Pistachio-colored KitchenAid for $499.99 – and the cheapest, Kassatex Bath Towels, which were on sale for $7.99
Male guests sported Hawaiian shirts and slacks while the women were clad in sun dresses and semi-formal gowns.
According to Gossip Extra, the ceremony took place under heavy security as wedding guests were handed blue wristbands to separate them from diners at the hotel’s restaurant.
At least a dozen plainclothes cops were seen patrolling the hotel grounds.
A uniformed, shotgun-toting Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy stood by his squad car in the parking lot while Delray Beach cops were parked on the street.
The blinds at the restaurant were pulled down and diners who wanted to lift them up to watch the wedding were told they couldn’t.
The wedding guests, meanwhile, took place in the tiny banquet room about 8 p.m. and cheered wildly when John Boehner and his wife, Debbie, and the newlyweds walked in half an hour later.
Guests helped themselves to a buffet prepared by Sundy House Chef Lindsay Autry, a star of the Bravo show Top Chef‘s Season 9.
However, one waitress on hand said she could not believe the wedding party had opted for a buffet, saying: “You’d think that they’d splurge on a five-course, sit-down meal! I thought they’d all be much richer!”
Just after 10 p.m., John Boehner was spotted asking the groom to allow him to dance with his daughter as a three-piece band played The Turtles’ So Happy Together. The congressman also cut a rug with his younger daughter, Tricia.
The Jamaican side of the family, it seems, including Dominic Lakhan’s sister Delicia, reportedly stayed off the dance floor.
David Schnittger, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, tweeted his best wishes to the newlyweds, writing: “Paparazzi rent-a-chopper over Boehner family wedding tonight. Hope you got some good pics. Congrats Lindsay and Dom.”
Cliff Kluge from Georgia claims he has found the original top-secret recipe for Coca-Cola in an old box of papers he purchased from an estate.
Cliff Kluge is now trying to sell the formula on eBay for $15 million.
The Coca-Cola Company, which has turned the secrecy surrounding its 19th-century cola recipe into the stuff of legends, says the formula might come close to Coca-Cola, but it’s still not the real thing.
Cliff Kluge, an antiques dealer from Ringgold in northern Georgia, told WXIA-TV that he found the 1943 recipe in a box of personal papers and letters he purchased at an estate auction for a famous Georgia chemist.
He speculated that Coca-Cola might have sent the ingredient list to him because the company was having trouble obtaining all of the ingredients necessary during the war.
Cliff Kluge from Georgia claims he has found the original top-secret recipe for Coca-Cola in an old box of papers he purchased from an estate
“You don’t stumble on things like this very often. It’s a letter, and a formula, and the processes to make it,” Cliff Kluge said.
“I think it’s a little deeper than having fun; I think it’s the recipe for Coca-Cola.”
The original 1886 Coca-Cola formula, devised by Dr. John S Pemberton, has long been the source of speculation. The Coca-Cola Company says it keeps the recipe a close-guarded secret. The original is locked away in a vault at the World of Coca-Cola Museum at its headquarters in Atlanta.
“What I can discern about the formula is that it’s a formula for a cola-type drink. I don’t think it’s coca-cola. It can’t be coca-cola,” Ted Ryan, the Coca-Cola Company’s archivist and historian, told WXIA.
“This particular formula is one of dozens that have popped up over the years trying to emulate the flavor of Coca-Cola.”
Indeed, in 2011, NPR’s This American Life radio program published a formula that it reported was the original recipe.
The primary flavors were: vanilla, lime juice, lemon oil, orange oil, cinnamon oil and nutmeg oil.
Cliff Kluge has declined to reveal the formula in his Coca-Cola recipe.
The Georgia man also said he doubts that he will get millions for the formula – however he believes it is worth a few hundred thousand dollars.
Angelina Jolie has revealed she has had a preventative double mastectomy after doctors estimated she had an 87% chance of contracting breast cancer.
Angelina Jolie, 37, made the decision to undergo the procedure after learning that she is a carrier of the BRCA1 cancer gene.
Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died at the age of 56 from ovarian cancer, which Angelina Jolie revealed she has a 50% chance of contracting.
Writing in an editorial piece in the New York Times, Angelina Jolie said: “My doctors estimated that I had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.
“Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65% risk of getting it, on average.
“Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy.
“I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.
“On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved. During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work.”
Angelina Jolie’s surgery was successful and doctors say her chances of developing breast cancer have now lowered to less than 5%.
“I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy,” she wrote.
“But it is one I am very happy that I made.
“My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.”
Angelina Jolie has preventative double mastectomy as she had an 87 percent chance of contracting breast cancer
Angelina Jolie praised the support her fiancé Brad Pitt and their children, Maddox, 11, Pax, 9, Zahara, 8, Shiloh, 6, and 4-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, gave her during treatment.
“It is reassuring that they see nothing that makes them uncomfortable. They can see my small scars and that’s it. Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can.
“I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries.
“We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.”
Angelina Jolie assured that having the double mastectomy hasn’t changed the way she feels about herself and her womanliness, and added that results of reconstructive surgery “can be beautiful”.
“On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman,” she said.
“I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.”
In addition, Angelina Jolie hopes that she can encourage other women to be informed and consider their options.
“I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness.
“But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.”
Angelina Jolie added: “For any woman reading this, I hope it helps you to know you have options. I want to encourage every woman, especially if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, to seek out the information and medical experts who can help you through this aspect of your life, and to make your own informed choices.
“I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be will able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options.
“Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of. “ February 2nd – Angelina Jolie begins three months of treatments prior to undergoing a preventative double mastectomy, starting with a “nipple delay, which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area”.
February 16th – The actress undergoes the major surgery – an 8-hour operation which sees the breast tissue removed before temporary fillers are put in place.
April 4th – Angelina Jolie attends the Women in the World Summit in New York looking in good spirits.
April 11th – Angelina Jolie is pictured with William Hague at the G8 Summit in London.
April 20th – Angelina Jolie has her breasts reconstructed with implants
April 27th – The mother-of-six completes the medical process. She is told that the surgery was a success and her chances of contracting breast cancer have now been reduced from 87% to less than 5%
May 14th – Angelina Jolie reveals her decision in an editorial piece published in the New York Times newspaper.
WHAT IS PREVENTATIVE MASTECTOMY?
Preventive mastectomy is the surgical removal of one or both breasts. It is done to prevent or reduce the risk of breast cancer in women who are at high risk of developing the disease.
In a total mastectomy, doctors remove the entire breast and nipple, while in a subcutaneous mastectomy, the doctor removes the breast tissue but leaves the nipple intact.
Existing data suggests that the treatment may significantly reduce the chances of developing tumors by about 90%.
Many choose to have breast reconstruction to restore the shape of the breast following surgery.
