Lisa Robin Kelly, best known for her role in That `70s Show alongside Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, has died at the age of 43.
The actress’ manager Craig Wyckoff said Lisa Robin Kelly died on Wednesday at a Los Angeles addiction treatment facility where she had been admitted earlier in the week.
No official cause of death was given.
Lisa Robin Kelly portrayed Laurie Forman, the promiscuous sister of Eric – played by Topher Grace on the Fox series, which ran from 1998 until 2006.
She left the series at the end of the fifth season in 2003. Her character was portrayed by the actress, Christina Moore, in season six.
Lisa Robin Kelly fell out of the spotlight after leaving the show but soon began making headlines for her troubled personal life.
Lisa Robin Kelly fell out of the spotlight after leaving That ‘70s Show but soon began making headlines for her troubled personal life
She was arrested in November along with her 61-year-old husband, Robert Joseph Gilliam, in connection with a disturbance at their home in North Carolina.
In June, Lisa Robin Kelly was arrested on suspicion of drink driving in California.
“Lisa had voluntarily checked herself into a treatment facility early this week where she was battling the addiction problems that have plagued her these past few years,” said Craig Wyckoff.
“I spoke to her on Monday, and she was hopeful and confident, looking forward to putting this part of her life behind her. Last night, she lost the battle,” he added.
Prior to That ’70s Show, Lisa Robin Kelly had minor roles in several TV shows, including The X-Files, Charmed and Married With Children.
Lisa Robin Kelly also had roles in the TV movies Amityville Dollhouse, Late Last Night and Jawbreaker.
US researchers have uncovered how bacteria may set off a chain reaction leading to bowel cancer.
Fusobacteria, commonly found in the mouth, cause overactive immune responses and turn on cancer growth genes, two studies reveal.
The microbes had been linked with colorectal cancer before but it was not known whether they were directly involved in tumor growth.
The early findings are published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe.
In addition to potential new treatments, the discovery could lead to better early diagnosis and prevention, experts hope.
The first study, carried out by Harvard Medical School researchers, showed that fusobacteria was present in high numbers in adenomas – a benign bowel growth that can become cancerous over time.
Fusobacteria, commonly found in the mouth, cause overactive immune responses and turn on cancer growth genes
The same researchers also did tests in mice showing that the bacteria speeded up the formation of colorectal tumors by attracting special immune cells that invade and set off an inflammatory response which can lead to cancer.
The second study, carried out by researchers at Case Western Reserve University, showed that fusobacteria had a molecule on their surface which enabled them to attach to and invade human colorectal cancer cells.
The molecule – FadA – then switches on cancer growth genes and stimulates inflammatory responses to promote tumor formation.
A synthetic compound which blocked FadA was found to completely halt the process, raising the possibility it could one day be used as a preventive treatment.
The Case Western team also confirmed that FadA levels were much higher in tissues from patients with adenomas and colorectal cancer compared with healthy individuals.
Dr. Wendy Garrett, lead author of Harvard study, said: “Fusobacteria may provide not only a new way to group or describe colon cancers but also, more importantly, a new perspective on how to target pathways to halt tumour growth and spread.”
She added that in the future the presence of the bacteria in a tumour may be used to guide treatment decisions.
Prof. Yiping Han who carried out the second study added: “We have proven there is an infectious component to colorectal cancer.
“We have shown that FadA is a marker that can be used for the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer and identified potential therapeutic targets to treat or prevent this common and debilitating disease.”
An international team of scientists is reporting a significant milestone for cancer research after charting 21 major mutations behind the vast majority of tumors.
The disruptive changes to the genetic code, reported in Nature, accounted for 97% of the 30 most common cancers.
Finding out what causes the mutations could lead to new treatments. Some causes, such as smoking are known, but more than half are still a mystery.
A tumor starts when one of the building blocks of bodies, a cell, goes wrong. Over the course of a lifetime cells pick up an array of mutations which can eventually transform them into deadly tumors which grow uncontrollably.
The international team of researchers was looking for the causes of those mutations as part of the largest-ever analysis of cancer genomes.
Cancer researchers charted 21 major mutations behind the vast majority of tumors
The well-known ones such as UV damage and smoking mutate the DNA, increasing the odds of cancer.
But each also leaves behind a unique hallmark – a piece of “genetic graffiti” – that shows if smoking or UV radiation has mutated the DNA.
Researchers, led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK, hunted for more examples of “graffiti” in 7,042 samples taken from the 30 most common cancers.
The found that 21 separate “graffiti signatures” could account for 97% of the mutations which led to cancer.
Other signatures were related to ageing and the body’s immune system. Cells respond to viral infection by activating a class of enzymes which mutate the viruses until they can no longer function.
However, 12 of the signatures defy explanation for now.
It is hoped that if some of them can be pinned down to things in the environment then new ways of preventing cancer could be developed.
It may also spur further research. One of the unknown causes of mutation happens only in neuroblastoma, a cancer of nerve cells which normally affects children, so something unique is happening there.
Documents leaked by Edward Snowden revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) broke privacy rules and overstepped its legal authority thousands of times in the past two years.
The incidents resulted in the unauthorised electronic surveillance of US citizens, according to documents published by the Washington Post.
Edward Snowden, 30, a former NSA contractor, has leaked top secret documents to the US and British media.
He has been given asylum in Russia.
On Thursday, the Washington Post posted on its website a selection of documents it said had been provided by Edward Snowden, who fled the US in June after providing documents detailing NSA surveillance programmes to the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers.
The documents purport to show that the unauthorised interception of telephone calls and emails of Americans and foreign nationals on US soil resulted from errors and departures from standard agency processes, including through a data collection method that a secret US surveillance court later ruled unconstitutional.
The documents offer more detail into the agency practices than is typically shared with members of Congress, the US justice department, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The NSA broke privacy rules and overstepped its legal authority thousands of times in the past two years
An internal audit dated May 2012 counted 2,776 incidents over the previous 12 months of unauthorised data collection. The rate of violations grew significantly each quarter, from 546 in the second quarter of 2011 to 865 in the first quarter of 2012.
It is unclear how many individuals were subjected to unauthorised surveillance.
NSA auditors speculated the number of incidents jumped in the first quarter of 2012 because a large number of Chinese surveillance targets visited the US for the Chinese New Year. NSA surveillance of foreign nationals while they are on US soil is restricted.
According to an internal NSA audit report detailing the incidents in the first quarter of 2012, the majority occurred due to “operator error”, usually from failure to follow procedures, typographical errors, insufficient research information, or workload issues.
Other incidents were attributed to “system error”, such as a lack of capabilities or glitches and bugs.
Some data was intercepted when foreign targets entered the US – where NSA surveillance is restricted – but the system was unaware the target had entered US soil.
Other “inadvertent collection incidents” were targets believed to be non-Americans but who turned out to be US citizens upon further investigation.
In one instance in 2008, a “large number” of calls placed from Washington DC were intercepted after an error in a computer program entered “202” – the telephone area code for Washington DC – into a data query instead of “20”, the country code for Egypt.
In another case, the agency vacuumed up vast amounts of international data from a fibre optic cable running through the US into an NSA computer, where it was stored and analysed. Months later, the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ruled the programme violated the search and seizure protections afforded by the US constitution.
Edward Snowden has been charged with espionage in a federal court in the US. He is currently in Russia, where the government of Vladimir Putin has granted him a year of asylum on the condition he cease disclosing secret US government information.
President Barack Obama has defended the series of programmes described in Edward Snowden’s leaks, but has promised reforms to guarantee greater oversight.
“Given the history of abuse by governments, it’s right to ask questions about surveillance, particularly as technology is reshaping every aspect of our lives,” Barack Obama said last week.
India’s rupee has hit a record low against the dollar despite recent efforts to prop-up the currency.
On Wednesday India’s central bank put further restrictions on the amount of money that companies and individuals can send out of the country.
That had little impact and the rupee fell to 62.03 to the dollar, below its previous low of 61.80 hit on August 6.
Rupee has hit a record low against the dollar despite recent efforts to prop-up the currency
Overseas investors have been pulling money out of Indian shares and debt on concerns over the economy.
According to official data, international investors withdrawn $11.58 billion in shares and debt from India’s markets since the beginning of June.
India’s economy had been growing at a fast clip, reaching annual growth of 9%.
In recent months, it has seen a sharp decline largely because of a slowdown in its manufacturing and services sectors.
“There is a complete lack of faith in the markets. There are fears that the RBI [Reserve Bank of India] measures may not help improve the rupee,” said Param Sarma, chief executive with NSP Forex.
Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, the widow of Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, still faces the threat of criminal charges and remains “of interest” to Federal and State investigators four months after the terror attack.
Katherine Russell, 24, has met with investigators several times since the bombs were detonated at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15.
A source close to the investigation has told MailOnline that law enforcement officials “still want to know what she knows”, and have not ruled out bringing charges.
The source said: “We are still very interested to know what she knows and can’t rule out anything at the moment in terms of future charges or where the investigation will take us.
“So no we’ve not ruled out bringing charges. This is an ongoing investigation and she’s of interest. We are proceeding carefully and thoroughly. It’s not over.”
Her attorney, Amato DeLuca said: “Katie has co-operated with the government extensively. Hopefully, they will conclude that Katie should not be charged.”
Katherine Russell did not meet with Federal investigators until April 22 – a full seven days after the bombings – when several agents spent just 15 minutes speaking with her lawyers at the Russell family’s Rhode Island home.
Katherine Russell Tsarnaev still faces the threat of criminal charges and remains “of interest” to Federal and State investigators after Boston Marathon attack
In the months since the bombs that killed four and wounded 264, with many suffering horrendous wounds including loss of limbs, Katherine Russell’s behavior and movements have been a source of great interest and scrutiny.
In May, CNN reported one key area of interest is a telephone call made by Katherine Russell to her husband shortly after authorities released his and his brother’s picture to identify them as suspects during the manhunt in the days after the bombings.
The FBI is believed to have retrieved the content of that conversation. Although information collected in this way is rarely presented in court, it can inform the course of investigations and interviews.
In May, Katherine Russell added New York attorney Joshua Dratel to her legal team, a criminal lawyer with experience in defending terrorism cases.
Until then Katherine Russell had been content to be represented by Amato DeLuca, a longtime family friend and a specialist in civil cases such as personal injury law.
Joshua Dratel’s expertise is very different. He has represented terrorism suspects in federal courts and military commissions with Guantanamo Bay detainee, David Hicks, one of his most famous clients.
David Hicks attended an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. He spent more than five years in Guantanamo and went onto serve a nine-month sentence in Australia having pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in March 2007.
Speaking at the time, Amato DeLuca explained Katherine Russell’s decision and said: “Mr. Dratel’s unique, specialized experience will help insure that Katie can assist in the ongoing investigation in the most constructive way possible.”
The move to bring Joshua Dratel on board came after it was reported by the Washington Post that investigators had discovered radical Islamist files on Katherine Russell’s computer.
It remains unclear whether the extremist files found on Katherine Russell’s home computer belonged to her or were downloaded by her late husband, Tamerlan Tsarnaev or his younger brother Dzhokar, 19, who is currently awaiting trial.
They included content from al-Qaeda magazine Inspire, which has featured articles such as, Make A Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.
Investigators have speculated that this may have provided the blueprint for the homemade bombs – two pressure cookers packed with shrapnel – which were detonated with such devastating effect.
Despite submitting not guilty pleas to 30 charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, Dzokhar Tsarnaev allegedly told arresting officers that he and his older brother built the pressure cooker bombs in the basement of the Cambridge, Massachusetts, apartment building in which Tamerlan and Katherine Russell lived.
Jessica Simpson famously struggled to shed her baby weight after piling on 60 lbs while pregnant with her first child, baby Maxwell.
And despite gaining half that amount the second time around, Jessica Simpson is apparently having just as much of a battle with the bulge.
According to reports, Jessica Simpson “feels really, really frustrated” with her weight loss post-pregnancy.
A source told OK! Magazine that slimming down “has been really difficult this time around” and added that the singer turned Fashion Star mentor “would just rather play with her kids than work out”.
“She feels really guilty whenever she leaves them,” the insider explained.
Jessica Simpson famously struggled to shed her baby weight after piling on 60 lbs while pregnant with her first child
Jessica Simpson, 33, gave birth to son Ace Knute on June 30, just 14 months after welcoming her daughter Maxwell Drew into the world.
And her fiancé Eric Johnson has apparently been very supportive about her taking a slower approach than many celebrity mothers, who result to drastic measures to lose the weight quickly.
“He tells her to stop putting so much pressure on herself,” the source said.
“He says that they can work out together, cook together, and the weight will drop right off.”
The insider added that the retired NFL tight end “is so happy with his family” and “doesn’t care about the weight as much as Jessica does”.
Jessica Simpson also has support in the form of her trainer Harley Pasternak, who according to reports is encouraging her to shed the excess pounds slowly but surely.
Harley Pasternak “reminds her it took her a long time to put on the weight – she had two back-to-back pregnancies,” the source said.
With her commitment ceremony to long term partner Sugar Bear just a month away, June Shannon needed a dress and enlisted her daughters to help her make the all-important choice.
However, the redneck “replica” of Kate Middleton’s royal wedding dress didn’t exactly fit as June Shannon hoped.
“This is what Kate wore when she married Prince William,” Mama June declared to her daughters, emerging from the changing room in the lace long sleeved creation during last episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
However, Mama June soon realized the gown didn’t really flatter her buxom figure.
“As a little girl, I never dreamed of having that white princess gown,” she admitted.
“I don’t want a white dress, It’s really not really a true wedding and also I’m not pure so…”
The larger than life star had to be laced into another dress by the store’s assistants before leaving empty handed.
The family’s excess weight was clearly bothering the family matriarch who attempted to put her brood on the cabbage soup diet in a last ditch attempt to shed some pounds before her big day.
“If I eat this, I better lose 50 lbs instantly,” June Shannon declared with some distaste.
“The soup’s been cooking for a while and it smells like wet gym shorts.”
The redneck “replica” of Kate Middleton’s royal wedding dress didn’t exactly fit as June Shannon hoped
June Shannon’s 16-year-old daughter Jessica “Chubbs” was equally unimpressed.
“It looks like someone threw up in a bowl,” she said, wrinkling her nose up at the stew of vegetables.
All the rest of the girls bottled out of trying the healthy concoction except for Pumpkin who proceeded to spit out the soup as soon as she tasted it.
June is later seen rushing to the bathroom in order to throw it up.
“I like non healthy food because it tastes good,” Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson declared, showing her stomach to the camera.
“Last time I ate a salad was never.”
Meanwhile, June Shannon tried to salvage her family’s reputation, telling viewers her clan are “big boned”.
“We don’t eat a lot of fried food. We eat baked food,” June Shannon maintained, while putting hunks of butter on top of a tray full of meat chops.
Meanwhile, as the ceremony approached, Sugar Bear and June Shannon worried their dance moves might not be up to scratch and agree to practice at a dance class.
Mama June also begins to pen invitations, using old thank you cards for the task.
“You are invited to a celebration of love,” she began to write, before sneezing with stress.
“I’m using old thank you cards to send out invitations. As long as you have food people will come.”
But the amount of organization wasn’t the least of her concerns.
With June Shannon a self confessed marriage phobic, she started to have commitment ceremony jitters.
“I’m a little nervous about doing it,” she confessed.
“One day I want to do it and another day I don’t want to do it kind of situation. I don’t even really want to do it anymore.”
And Sugar Bear also appeared concerned.
“I just hope June shows up on our wedding day,” Mike Thompson fretted.
Seven-year-old Jane Richard showed off her new prosthetic leg four months after Boston Marathon tragedy.
Jane Richard, the little sister of 8-year-old Martin Richard and the youngest victim of the Boston bombings, today revealed her inspirational recovery as her family broke their silence to speak out about their loss.
Exactly four months since losing their son, Bill and Denise Richard, from Dorchester, Massachusetts, said that they still feel the agony of Martin’s death every hour of every day.
But they added that they are inspired by the bravery of little Jane Richard, who lost a leg and needed 12 surgeries after she was hit by the blast as she cheered on runners at the finish line with her family.
They released the heartwarming photograph showing Jane Richard smiling as she stands on her new leg, which she uses with the help of crutches.
When Jane Richard was discharged from hospital a few weeks ago, the family returned home for the first time since April 15; they had made a pact not to sleep there until the family could return together.
“As so many things have been, returning home without Martin certainly made that important milestone bittersweet, but we know he was with us, as he is every moment of every day,” the family said in a statement released on Thursday.
“An hour doesn’t go by that we don’t feel the agony of Martin’s death and the senseless way it came about. The pain is constant and even the sweetest moments can become heartbreaking when we are struck by the realization that <<Martin would have loved this…>>.”
“But it is not all heartbreak for our family, as we are making progress on this long, difficult and painful road forward… Jane continues to be an incredible source of inspiration – and exhaustion. The loss of her leg has not slowed her one bit, or deterred her in any way.”
They said that the brave little girl walked into the home with her crutches on her own .
While she is getting more comfortable with her prosthetic leg, she is unable to wear it all the time – but when she does “she struts around on it with great pride and a total sense of accomplishment”.
Jane Richard showed off her new prosthetic leg four months after Boston Marathon tragedy
“Watching her dance with her new leg, which has her weight primarily on the other leg, is absolutely priceless,” the statement said.
They also provided an update of Henry, the family’s eldest child who escaped harm when the family went to cheer on marathon runners near the finish line four months ago.
The youngster has “continued to be strong, attentive and protective of all of us”, the family said, and has enjoyed a busy summer of camp trips and spending time with friends.
Both of the children will return to school in a few weeks, while their parents, Bill and Denise Richard, said they will start using that time to explore how they can honor Martin’s memory.
“Throughout all that has happened, we have worked hard to maintain our bond as a family,” they added.
“With the love and support of family and friends, including those who were total strangers just four months ago, we feel like we are succeeding.”
The parents did not mention their own recoveries; Bill Richard sustained a shrapnel wound and hearing loss, while Denise needed surgeries for a head injury, which left her missing sight in one eye.
Jane Richard is believed to have been standing on the marathon fence next to the big brother she idolized when the first of two bombs detonated near to the finish line.
Images from before the blast appear to show Bill Richard, a community organizer, holding his youngest children up on the railings as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev allegedly plants his backpack bomb just behind them.
Jane Richard’s eldest brother Henry, 12, managed to escape from the bomb attack uninjured.
It isn’t clear whether any of the women in the photograph is the children’s mother, school librarian Denise Richard, who sustained head injuries and had to undergo brain surgery following the attack.
After her injuries, local reports noted that Jane Richard is an enthusiastic Irish dancer who has attended classes at the Clifden Academy of Irish Dance in Milton since the age of three.
Neighbors said Jane Richard looked up to her older brother and they both attended the Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester, where their mother served as the school librarian.
The bombs, described by experts as makeshift anti-personnel devices, were made from pressure cookers packed with shrapnel and ball bearings to cause the maximum injuries to bystanders.
Police believe they were planted by brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26. After their images were released by the FBI, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in an ensuing gunfight with police.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding in a boat outside a home hours later and was treated in hospital for an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the neck. He remains in federal prison in Massachusetts and is charged with 30 counts, including 17 that carry the death penalty.
US scientists have discovered a new animal living in the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador.
It has been named olinguito and is the first new species of carnivore to be identified in the Western hemisphere in 35 years.
It has taken more than a decade to identify the mammal, a discovery that scientists say is incredibly rare in the 21st Century.
The credit goes to a team from the Smithsonian Institution.
The trail began when zoologist Kristofer Helgen uncovered some bones and animal skins in storage at a museum in Chicago.
“It stopped me in my tracks,” said Kristofer Helgen.
“The skins were a rich red colour and when I looked at the skulls I didn’t recognise the anatomy. It was different to any similar animal I’d seen, and right away I thought it could be a species new to science.”
Dr. Kristofer Helgen is curator of mammals at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, which houses the largest mammal collection in the world.
More than 600,000 specimens are flat-packed in trays to save space, their bones picked clean by specially bred beetles and stored in boxes alongside their skins.
Many were collected more than a century ago and were often mislabelled or not properly identified. But recent advances in technology have enabled scientists to extract DNA from even the oldest remains.
Olinguito and is the first new species of carnivore to be identified in the Western hemisphere in 35 years
The 14 in-long olinguito is the latest addition to the animal family that includes racoons. By comparing DNA samples with the other five known species, Dr. Kristofer Helgen was able to confirm his discovery.
“It’s hard for me to explain how excited I am,” he says.
“The olinguito is a carnivore – that group of mammals that includes cats, dogs and bears and their relatives. Many of us believed that list was complete, but this is a new carnivore – the first to be found on the American continent for more than three decades.”
Dr. Kristofer Helgen has used such mammal collections to identify many other new species, including the world’s biggest bat and the world’s smallest bandicoot. But he says the olinguito is his most significant discovery. Its scientific name is Bassaricyon neblina. The last carnivore to be identified in the Americas was the Colombian Weasel.
But even after identifying the olinguito, a crucial question remained: could they be living in the wild?
“We used clues from the specimens about where they might have come from and to predict what kind of forest we might find them in – and we found it!”
The olinguito is now known to inhabit a number of protected areas from Central Colombia to western Ecuador. Although it is a carnivore, it eats mainly fruit, comes out at night and lives by itself, producing just one baby at a time.
And scientists now believe an olinguito was exhibited in several zoos in the US between 1967 and 1976. Its keepers mistook it for an olinga – a close relative – and could not understand why it would not breed. It was sent to a number of different zoos but died without being properly identified.
“The vast majority of the discoveries of new species are made in museum collections,” says Chris Norris, of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in Connecticut and president of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections.
“Often people working 70 years ago or more had different ideas of what constituted a new species – maybe they didn’t recognise things that we would as being distinct, or they might not have had access to technologies, such as being able to extract and sequence DNA.”
But there is no central museum database and scientists have little idea of what each collection contains. Many organisations are now putting their inventories online, and Dr. Chris Norris says that will make research faster and more accessible.
Another challenge is keeping specimens in good condition. Many are hundreds of years old and are prone to moth and insect infestations.
The oldest surviving collection was assembled in the 17th Century by John Tradescant. Its most famous specimen is a dodo that is now on display at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the UK.
“But not all of it,” says Dr. Chris Norris.
“There’s just the head and a foot left because everything else got eaten.
“It’s a cautionary tale for anyone working on museum collections today. You get to do exciting science but you have to take care of them or they won’t be there for people to use in the future.
“Our economy is in the middle of a rough period and spending on museums sometimes seems difficult to justify when you look for example at some of the more shiny or spectacular scientific tools that are out there. But it’s important to think of these things, not as rather bizarre collections of dried skins and pickled bats in jars and drawers full of snails, but as a research tool in the same way that you might think of a new telescope or a Large Hadron Collider.”
Scientists have catalogued only a fraction of the planet’s lifeforms. New species of insects, parasitic worms, bacteria and viruses are discovered on a regular basis, but new mammals are rare.
“This reminds us that the world is not yet explored and the age of discovery is far from over,” says Dr. Kristofer Helgen.
“The olinguito makes us think – what else is out there?”
According to research firm Gartner, smartphone sales exceeded feature phone sales for the first time in the April-to-June period.
Worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 435 million units. Smartphone sales accounted for 225 million units, up 46.5% from the previous year.
Feature phones totalled 210 million units, down 21%.
The highest smartphone growth rates came from Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, Gartner said.
A smartphone is commonly defined as a device that has built-in applications and can connect to the internet.
In contrast, feature phones tend to perform fewer functions and are priced more cheaply.
Smartphone sales exceeded feature phone sales for the first time in the April-to-June period
“Smartphones accounted for 51.8% of mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2013, resulting in smartphone sales surpassing feature phone sales for the first time,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner.
However, a competing firm, IDC, said this milestone had already been reached in the first three months of 2013.
Some analysts said that the price of entry-level smartphones has come down sharply over the past few months, resulting in a major sales boost.
“We have a lot of Asian manufactures such as Samsung, Huawei, ZTE and LG who are coming put with much more affordable smartphone models,” said Andrew Milroy of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.
“That has helped them tap into a vast consumer base, especially in emerging markets.”
Andrew Milroy added that some mobile phone carriers had also been offering pre-paid data plans, allowing consumers in these markets to limit their bills while using features such as email and mobile applications, which had also helped attract new customers.
Gartner said Samsung continued to be the top seller of smartphones globally, while Apple saw its marketshare come down to 14.2% from 18.8% in the same period a year ago.
Meanwhile, Lenovo, the world biggest PC-maker, managed to gain a lot of market share very quickly with an aggressive push into the smartphone market.
Gartner said that in terms of operating systems, Google’s Android was top, with 79% market share, followed by Apple’s iOS with 14.2%. However, Microsoft overtook Blackberry for the first time to come in third place.
Andrew Milroy said that given the growth in smartphones sales, coupled with a drop in their prices, the future for feature phones looks bleak.
“Feature phones will be a hard sell in about five to 10 years time,” he said.
“It will reach a point where the sales of a new model of feature phone will not be able to justify the amount of time and money that is spent into developing it.”
Marion Bartoli announces she is retiring from tennis just 40 days after winning her only Grand Slam title.
The 28-year-old Wimbledon champion, ranked seventh in the world, said she was taking the decision with immediate effect because of persistent injuries.
Marion Bartoli made the tearful announcement at a media conference following defeat by Simona Halep at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
“It’s time for me to retire and to call it a career,” she told reporters.
“I feel it’s time for me to walk away.”
Marion Bartoli, who beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki in the Wimbledon final in July, said her Achilles, shoulder, hip and lower back hurt continually when she plays.
She added: “It’s never easy… but that was actually the last match of my career. I just can’t do it anymore.”
After her 6-1 6-4 win at Wimbledon, Marion Bartoli hinted that the physical demands of the sport were taking their toll.
Marion Bartoli announces she is retiring from tennis just 40 days after winning her only Grand Slam title
“That was probably the last little bit of something that was left inside me,” she said on Wednesday.
The 2007 Wimbledon runner-up had won her first Grand Slam at the 47th attempt – the longest wait in women’s tennis before a maiden Grand Slam.
Marion Bartoli had returned from her Wimbledon triumph to play in Toronto last week and was playing her first match in Cincinnati having received a first-round bye.
However, the 3-6 6-4 6-1 loss to Simona Halep appears to have been the last straw.
“It’s been a tough decision to take,” she added.
“I’ve been a tennis player for a long time and I had the chance to make my biggest dream a reality.
“You know, everyone will remember my Wimbledon title. No-one will remember the last match I played here.
“I made my dream a reality and it will stay forever with me, but now my body just can’t cope with everything.”
WTA chairman and chief executive Stacey Allaster paid tribute to Marion Bartoli’s “long, successful career”.
“She is an inspirational champion and a great ambassador for women’s tennis who has dedicated her life to the sport and given so much back to the game,” she said.
“I am so proud of her for who she is, her values and for fighting to realize her dream of winning Wimbledon.”
Mark Sutton, the stuntman who parachuted into the London 2012 opening ceremony as James Bond, has been killed in an accident.
Mark Sutton, 42, died during a wing-diving event near Martigny, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
Police said they did not yet know the cause but it is thought Mark Sutton died after crashing into a ridge of rock.
Mark Sutton doubled for Daniel Craig’s James Bond as he and another stuntman playing the Queen memorably entered the Olympic Stadium from a helicopter.
Wing-divers wear special suits that are designed to allow them to glide through the air at high speeds, before a parachute is opened for landing.
Mark Sutton, the stuntman who parachuted into the London 2012 opening ceremony as James Bond, has been killed in an accident
Mark Sutton, a former army officer, is thought to have dived from a helicopter flying at 3,300 m (10,826 ft) intending to land at a village just across the border in France.
But reports say the stuntman hit a ridge of rock, suffering fatal injuries. Rescuers believe Mark Sutton died on impact.
The stuntman had been invited to take part in the three-day wing-diving event with 19 other experienced wing-suit pilots.
The accident happened on the first day of the event, which involved the wing-divers being filmed jumping from helicopters.
Police said a formal identification of the body was under way and an investigation had been opened.
Gary Connery, the stuntman who played the Queen during the Olympic ceremony, tweeted what appeared to be a grieving message following his friend’s death.
He wrote: “All you jumpers/flyers out there, stay safe, make wise choices and know your limits and your locations. Live to tell your stories. One love.”
Private First Class Bradley Manning has apologized for hurting the US by leaking a trove of classified government documents to WikiLeaks.
At a sentencing hearing in Fort Meade, Maryland, Bradley Manning, 25, said he had mistakenly believed he could “change the world for the better”.
And he said that in retrospect, he should have worked “inside the system”.
Bradley Manning faces up to 90 years in prison following his conviction in July on 20 espionage and other charges.
In an unsworn statement at the hearing in the sentencing phase of his court martial, Bradley Manning said: “I’m sorry that my actions hurt people. I’m sorry that it hurt the United States.
“I’m apologizing for the unexpected results of my actions. The last three years have been a learning experience for me.”
Last month, military Judge Colonel Denise Lind convicted Private Bradley Manning of 20 charges including espionage, theft and violating computer regulations.
Bradley Manning had already admitted passing hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks while stationed in Iraq in 2010, saying in a pre-trial hearing he had leaked the secret files in order to spark a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.
In his brief statement on Wednesday, Bradley Manning said he had come to realize he should have worked “more aggressively inside the system” to make the changes he sought.
“When I made these decisions I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I can’t go back and change things.”
Bradley Manning also said he understood he must “pay a price” for his actions, but hoped one day to go to university and have a meaningful relationship with his sister and other family members.
Bradley Manning has apologized for hurting the US by leaking a trove of classified government documents to WikiLeaks
The sentencing phase of the trial has focused on how much damage the WikiLeaks revelations caused. The prosecution has called witnesses who described the impact on US diplomatic relations and on the military’s dealings with Afghan civilians, among other effects.
Bradley Manning has said he never intended to harm US national security.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday the organization that received and published the leaked documents, WikiLeaks, said the statement was “extorted from him under the overbearing weight of the United States military justice system”.
“Mr. Manning’s forced decision to apologize to the US government in the hope of shaving a decade or more off his sentence must be regarded with compassion and understanding,” the anti-secrecy group said.
Ahead of Bradley Manning’s statement, Navy Capt. David Moulton, a psychiatrist, testified that at the time of the leak he felt abandoned by friends and family and had hit a rough patch with his boyfriend amid an isolating deployment.
The psychiatrist interviewed Bradley Manning for 21 hours after his arrest.
Bradley Manning had also decided he wanted to become a woman, Capt. David Moulton said.
In psychiatric terms, Bradley Manning has a “gender identity disorder”, or “disturbance of one’s gender”, Capt. David Moulton said.
This is different from being gay, he added.
“Gender is very much at the core of our identity,” he said, adding that when a person is uncertain about his or her gender, the whole world seems “off-keel”.
Bradley Manning referred to these issues in his statement, saying they were “ongoing” and “a considerable difficulty in my life” but no excuse for his actions.
Amid this turmoil, Bradley Manning also became disillusioned about the US War in Iraq and was trying to correct “injustices”, Capt. David Moulton said.
“Manning was under the impression that the leaked information was going to change how the world saw the war in Iraq,” the psychiatrist testified.
He added that Bradley Manning believed the leaks would ultimately end all war, and the young soldier was unclear about the extent of the punishment he would face for his actions.
“He underestimated how much trouble he would get in, for sure,” Capt. David Moulton said.
“He was really relying on his morals and his ideology and not thinking beyond that.”
Separately, an Army psychotherapist, who treated Bradley Manning while he was in Iraq, said he had begun the process to remove him from the military.
“He was having issues at work,” Capt. Michael Worsley said, adding Bradely Manning’s job as an intelligence analyst had made him even more isolated and anxious.
During treatment, the soldier sent Capt. Michael Worsley an email describing his desire to become a woman and his hopes military life would “get rid of it”, attaching a photo of himself with a blond wig and makeup.
Bradley Manning’s sister and aunt are also on the list of potential defense witnesses.
Fidel Castro has revealed in a recent article he decided to step down and transfer power to his younger brother, Raul, because he was diagnosed with a fatal illness in 2006.
In an article published to mark his 87th birthday, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he didn’t expect to survive the stomach ailment and live for so long.
“I was far from imagining that my life would extend for another seven years.”
Fidel Castro had been in power since the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
The long article was only published by official newspaper Granma on Wednesday, a day after his birthday.
Fidel Castro left office for treatment in 2006 but only formally resigned as commander-in-chief and president of Cuba in February 2008.
“As soon as I understood that it would be definitive, I did not hesitate to cease my charges as president,” he said in the article.
Fidel Castro also revealed that Cuba had received weapons from North Korea in the early 1980s.
In an article published to mark his 87th birthday, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he didn’t expect to survive the stomach ailment and live for so long
The North Korean weapons shipment was provided after Soviet leader Yuri Andropov warned that his country was no longer prepared to step in to defend the communist-run island.
“He told us that if we were attacked by the United States we would have to fight alone,” wrote Fidel Castro.
The Soviet Union renewed its commitment, however, to continue providing weapons to the island.
But Cuba decided to gather weapons from “other friends” to arm “one million Cuban fighters.”
“Comrade Kim Il Sung, a veteran and exemplary soldier, sent us 100,000 AK rifles and accompanying ammunition without charging a penny,” writes Fidel Castro.
The North Korean leader, who was succeeded by his son, died in 1994.
The revelations come as a team of United Nations experts investigate an incident in the Panama Canal involving a North Korean ship carrying an undeclared shipment of weapons from Cuba.
The ship was seized last month on suspicion of carrying drugs, but Panamanian officials found weapons – including two Soviet-era combat jets – stashed under bags of sugar.
Cuba came forward saying the “obsolete weapons” were being sent to North Korea to be repaired.
Panama called in the UN to investigate if the shipment breached sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear programme.
Duck Dynasty new season premiered last night on A&E TV with a surprise episode Till Duck Do Us Part.
Everyone comes together to plan a surprise wedding for Phil and Miss Kay Robertson, setting up a special ceremony on their land, which the whole family attends.
Si Robertson distracts Phil and Kay by taking them on a “trip down memory lane” to different places that were meaningful in their relationship.
Duck Dynasty stars received big salary raises right before Season 4 premieres
It was also reported that the cast of A&E’s runaway hit reality series Duck Dynasty has received big raises right before Season 4 premieres.
After prolonged talks, the Robertsons will earn approximately $200,000 an episode to be divided among the nine adults and 11 kids. This is about four times more than what the family banked previously. The new deal also includes additional seasons of the series, and series/cast options.
Talks for a new agreement began in early 2013 and initially delayed production on Season 4. Duck Dynasty eventually began production while negotiations were still underway.
The Season 3 finale of Duck Dynasty was the most-watched A&E series telecast in network history, grabbing 9.6 million viewers and 5.5 million viewers in the adults ages 18-49 demographic.
Justin Bieber broke the Make-A-Wish Foundation record by granting its 200th wish after spending time with sick 8-year-old fan Annalysha Brown-Rafanan and accepting her marriage proposal.
Justin Bieber, 19, met Atlanta born Annalysha Brown-Rafanan, who is suffering from a life threatening liver condition, over the weekend in conjunction with the charity.
Justin Bieber broke the Make-A-Wish Foundation record by granting its 200th wish after spending time with sick 8-year-old fan Annalysha Brown-Rafanan and accepting her marriage proposal
Annalysha Brown-Rafanan was greeted on Christmas Day 2012 with the news that she would get to meet Justin Bieber and attend his concert in Atlanta on August 10, so it’s been a long time coming.
“Justin Bieber makes her happy. And through all her illness and poking and all that, it just takes away from <<I’m sick>>,” said Annalysha’s mother, Contrina Brown.
“This is what it is about. Thanks,” Justin Bieber Tweeted to Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“Honored yesterday. one of the best moments ive ever had. thank u. looking forward to doing more together. thanks.”
Justin Bieber is well overdue a smattering of good press after a flurry of detrimental tidbits.
Lady Gaga decided to release her new lyric video Applause on Wednesday.
Lady Gaga, 27, only shot the video on Monday at nightclub Micky’s in West Hollywood, California.
She rushed it out to keep up with the early release of the Applause single after it was leaked online.
Lady Gaga was both video star and creator as she held a handheld camera during the filming to provide her own scenes.
The video by Haus Of Gaga featured a series of quick cuts and opens with an image of Lady Gaga getting touched up as she wore rainbow-coloured, kabuki-like face paint.
It’s the same edgy make-up look that Lady Gaga wore on the cover of her upcoming album ARTPOP.
Lyrics to the catchy tune run along the bottom of the video as Lady Gaga gives the viewer a front-row seat at a raucous drag queen runway show.
“I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong!” she sang at the beginning of the song.
Lady Gaga released a lyric video for her new single Applause after filming it earlier this week
Lady Gaga cavorted around with others who also wore the multi-coloured face paint along with flowing white robes and black skull caps.
“I live for the applause, applause, applause,” Lady Gaga belted out as performers in the video clapped in unison.
The singer also wrapped an arm around a performer dressed up as Peter Pan.
Lady Gaga had urged her legion of fans to dress up and join her for the video shoot.
“I will definitely NOT be at Micky’s tonight, and I will definitely NOT expect you there to be in my lyric video,” Lady Gaga tweeted on Monday.
“I’M SERIOUS LA MONSTERS, ITS NOT LIKE I WILL BE HOPING YOU ARE THERE WITH YOUR APPLAUSE MAKEUP READY TO DANCE FOR ME AND WATCH DRAG.”
Lady Gaga released the Applause lyric video early after the song leaked online on Monday ahead of its scheduled release next week.
She is set to make her own big-screen debut as La Chameleon in Robert Rodriguez’s sequel Machete Kills, due out October 4.
Her fourth studio album ARTPOP is due out in November.
Lady Gaga will sing her new track Applause at the MTV Music Awards – airing live August 25 – which will be her first performance since having hip surgery in February.
Jennifer Richardson, one of Lamar Odom’s alleged mistresses, has opened up toInTouch magazine about her purported year-long affair with the NBA star, claiming the Kardashians had her followed “for weeks”.
Jennifer Richardson, 29, who said she met Lamar Odom, 33, at a club in January 2012, said she believed Khloe Kardashian, 28, found out about their affair and had her followed.
“They had private investigators following me for weeks,” claims the LA entrepreneur.
“I was very, very intimidated and scared.”
Jennifer Richardson said she believed Khloe Kardashian had Lamar Odom trailed too.
“She’s constantly looking for Lamar and trying to find out where he is, calling him, calling his assistant,” she said.
“Lamar would just hit <<ignore>>.”
Before their affair ended last March, Lamar Odom told Jennifer Richardson he wanted to get her pregnant, despite his wife’s struggles to conceive, she said.
“We talked about how much he wanted me to have his baby,” said Jennifer Richardson.
Jennifer Richardson, one of Lamar Odom’s alleged mistresses, has opened up to InTouch magazine about her purported year-long affair with the NBA star
“Lamar is baby crazy – that’s all he talks about. That was probably 70 percent of our conversations.”
Jennifer Richardson did not use birth control, and although she didn’t become pregnant, there were some scares.
“I’m not going to lie, I thought I could be [pregnant] a few times,” she said.
Jennifer Richardson opened up about their love life, claiming that Lamar Odom was “very good” in bed.
“He’s an emotional, affectionate, freaky lover,” she said.
“The chemistry was deep and intense.”
Jennifer Richardson also penned a handwritten to Khloe Kardashian, claiming she didn’t mean to hurt the reality star but that she was “in love with Lamar”.
“My intentions are not and have never been maliscious [sic] or to harm what you and Lamar share,” and “your fans and so many young women admire and look to you for strength. They deserve to know your marriage is not perfect.”
“Khloe puts on a brave face for the public,” she said.
“It’s like she just wants to be that perfect, white picket-fence family – everything she knows it will never be.”
Meanwhile, rumours that Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are filing divorce papers on Wednesday are “not true”, Khloe’s mother Kris Jenner told TMZ on Wednesday.
“Khloe and Lamar are absolutely not getting divorced. There’s been no talk of divorce.”
Kris Jenner added Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom were at her house two days ago and “everything was fine”.
Since Jennifer Richardson came forward with the allegations, another woman has claimed she too had an affair with the basketball player.
Lawyer Polina Polonsky, who said she had a six-week fling with Lamar Odom, told Star magazine she hooked up with him the night of Kim Kardashian’s baby shower on June 2.
“I was under the impression that he had left Khloe, and that’s why he was living at the Roosevelt,” she told Star Magazine.
The magazine claimed Khloe Kardashian was “devastated” about Polina Polonsky and tracked down the cheating pair at various hotel rooms.
James Blunt pays tribute to late Whitney Houston in his new single Miss America.
In the brand new track from his fourth studio album Moon Landing, James Blunt, 39, offers an acoustic ballad which speaks of the personal connection fans feel they have with singers, musicians and bands because of the media spotlight upon them.
Allowing the lyrics and melodies to work for themselves, the music video just shows James Blunt with simply a grand piano as his accompaniment.
The allusions to Whitney Houston are clear from the first line which asks “did someone give you something to help you ease the pain, like the liquor in a bottle we watched you slip away”.
In 2012, on February 11, Whitney Houston was found unconscious and submerged in the bathtub of her her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of death was down to the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use” according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
James Blunt pays tribute to late Whitney Houston in his new single Miss America
Considered one of the greatest singers of all time, Whitney Houston loss was felt across the world, and just like the reaction to Princess Diana’s death in 1997, her death caused global mourning for the people, like James Blunt, who felt like they knew her “through the bars of a song”.
A sombre first release from James Blunt’s upcoming album, his following tracks will continue an emotionally charged theme.
James Blunt worked again with producer Tom Rothrock – who worked with James on his multi-platinum selling debut Back To Bedlam – and also brought in Martin Terefe who has credits in the musical work of KT Tunstall, Martha Wainwright and Jason Mraz.
Discussing the album’s name, James Blunt said: “There’s just something romantic, old-school and lonely about the moon landings. A nostalgic memory of something huge that we can hardly believe we once achieved, and for some sad reason, can’t achieve again – like first love.
“This is a much more personal album, and also quite back to basics. It’s about me and Tom, the producer, finding where the story all started and where we are now.
“I’m not trying to prove anything,” James Blunt continued.
“I haven’t been trying to second-guess the audience or over-thinking things. It’s just me alone in a sound-booth, looking through the glass at Tom, trying to express myself simply and honestly. This is the album I would have recorded, perhaps, if Back To Bedlam hadn’t sold anything.”
The first single from James Blunt’s new record will be Bonfire Heart on October 7, with the album available on October 21.
Bachelor star Gia Allemand died at the age of 29 after committing suicide by hanging herself, TMZreports.
Gia Allemand’s boyfriend Ryan Anderson – who has released a statement on the tragic news – is said to have discovered her body hanging and unconcscious in her home and immediately called 911.
In a statement today, NBA player Ryan Anderson has payed tribute to his girlfriend saying: “Gia was the most beautiful person I knew inside and out and she always smiled and made everyone else around her smile. She had such an amazing impact on my life and anyone that knew her was blessed.”
Following the 911 emergency call, Gia Allemand was taken to University Hospital in New Orleans on Monday where she was put on life support.
On Tuesday she remained in hospital unconscious in critical condition and on continued life support.
It was on Wednesday that life support was withdrawn after her condition failed to improve, and her family released a statement confirming that she had died.
TMZ have also claimed that Gia Allemand has been “upset about a rocky relationship with her boyfriend Ryan Anderson”.
However, she was frequently posting happy photos of herself with Ryan Anderson, most recently a shot of the pair in Las Vegas at the end of last month.
Gia Allemand’s boyfriend Ryan Anderson is said to have discovered her body hanging and unconcscious in her home
In his statement, Ryan Anderson said: “I’m deeply grateful for all the love and support we have received from family, friends and fans.”
Adding: “All I have left is to cherish those memories we made together and help perpetuate the many values, faith and love that we shared.”
Gia Allemand’s family confirmed the news of her death in an earlier statement, saying: “Due to a critical loss of brain and organ function, life support was withdrawn today.”
“Ms. Allemand passed away peacefully with her mother, boyfriend, and other life-long friends by her side. As a practicing Christian, Gia did receive the sacrament of last rites.
“Loved ones and fans will remember Gia Allemand as a caring woman who loved her family and was well-known for her compassion towards animals and mission to rescue homeless pets.”
Gia Allemand’s family say a funeral for the reality star will take place in due course, with further details released at a later date.
“Funeral arrangements will be forthcoming in another official statement once available,” the statement continued.
“On behalf of the family, we sincerely ask for privacy at this time.”
Gia Allemand almost made it to the finale on the Jake Pavelka season of the hit ABC show The Bachelor, losing out to Vienna Girardi.
Jake Pavelka has already reacted to the the news of his former co-star’s passing, tweeting: “I had to pull over, I can’t stop crying. We have lost an angel.”
After the Bachelor in 2010, Gia Allemand – a model and actress – later joined the cast of reality series Bachelor Pad in 2010 but only made it to the third episode.
She always maintained that she entered the reality show in the genuine hope to find true love.
“I truly went on the show to find love!” she told Emme magazine.
“A few months before going on The Bachelor my boyfriend broke my heart. I couldn’t date or meet anyone. I was in such a rut so my friends submitted me for The Bachelor.”
Gia Allemand began her career as a model not too long after she was born.
As a baby she starred in commercials for Johnson & Johnson and Gerber Baby.
In her teenage years, Gia Allemand’s modelling career took off when she was asked to enter a swimsuit competition.
That led to several more, and Gia Allemand ended up taking second place in both the Miss Hawaiian Tropic competition and Miss Red Hot Taj Mahal Super Bowl contest in 2005.
But it was when she appeared in men’s magazine Maxim in 2007 she became widely recognised.
Gia Allemand’s appearance in the publication led her to then take the tiara in the Miss Bikini-USA’s Model of the Year in 2008.
But Gia Allemand’s passion was for acting and performing, and in 2010 she was cast in the role of famed Hollywood actress Ava Gardner in a film produced by Brett Ratner about the life of actor Gianni Russo.
Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson have five children: John Luke, Will, Rebecca, Sadie and Bella.
Willie and Korie Robertson have three biological children: John Luke, Sadie and Bella.
This is no surprise as they look almost identical, especially John Luke and Sadie.
Willie and Korie Robertson have three biological children and two adopted
However, their other two adopted children, Rebecca and Will, were less known publicly, even though one has been on their show Duck Dynasty.
The oldest of the kids and also newest member of the Robertson family is Rebecca. She is a foreign exchange student from Taiwan who came to stay with the Robertsons and the family fell in love. Eventually Willie and Korie Robertson became Rebecca’s foster parents. Rebecca hasn’t been shown on the show yet.
John Luke Robertson is the oldest boy in the family and has seen the most air time of the children on the show. He frequently hunts with the guys and gets dating advice from Uncle Si.
Sadie Robertson has also appeared several times with memorable scenes of her learning to drive and picking out dresses for a dance.
Will was the first adopted child to the family and has been with the Robertsons since birth. He has been seen on the show, but haven’t heard too much about him or his background yet.
A month after deciding to adopt Will, Korie Robertson found out she was pregnant with Bella, so it was a very eventful time for the family. Bella has been on a show in a few shots with all of the granddaughters about Phil and Miss Kay Robertson.
This comes as no surprise to people who watch the show and can tell that the Robertson family really has big hearts and great values. Even though, they argue like all brothers do on the show, you can tell that Phil and Miss Kay Robertson have raised great morals and values into their children and family.
Lauren Silverman has today agreed a divorce settlement with her estranged husband Andrew.
Lauren Silverman, 36, who is believed to be 11 weeks pregnant with Simon Cowell’s baby, has already told friends that she is so in love with the music mogul, 53, that she wants to marry him.
Property millionaire Andrew Silverman filed for divorce last month, shortly after discovering his wife was pregnant by the man he once considered a close friend.
Simon Cowell had secret meeting with Andrew Silverman at New York airport last week in bid to end marriage amicably
Andrew Silverman even cited Simon Cowell – whose fortune is estimated at $368 million – as a “co-respondent” in the court papers for adultery.
The deal was agreed in Manhattan just hours ago and both parties are said to be in New York – however they were not together to sign the deal. Lauren Silverman is said to have won half her $4 million pre-nup.
However, after a series of phone conversations and one top secret meeting with Simon Cowell, Andrew Silverman, 37, has agreed a settlement with his estranged wife – which includes a custody arrangement for their seven-year-old son Adam.
Today, Lauren Silverman’s attorneys, Robert Cohen and Bernard Clair, said: “The matter has been resolved and the parties have moved on.”
Although there are believed to be no plans for Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman to marry, they are a couple and Cowell has pledged to look after Lauren and his baby.
Simon Cowell may now make a public statement within the coming days.
It is believed that Lauren Silverman has won a share of the pre-nup, valued at $3-$4million she signed before her 2003 wedding to Andrew, valued at around $2million.
The New York Post reported that Lauren Silverman waited until her 10th wedding anniversary to break the news of her affair with Simon Cowell to her husband so the terms of her pre-nup would kick in.
Former Bachelor contestant Gia Allemand has died, it emerged on Tuesday, a day after being admitted to hospital following a “serious medical event”.
Circumstances surrounding the cause of Gia Allemand’s death remain unclear, but a family member has confirmed the 29-year-old reality star has died, according to TMZ.
The website says Gia Allemand’s mother and longterm boyfriend, New Orleans Pelicans star Ryan Anderson, were at her hospital bedside when she passed away.
The sad news comes following earlier reports on Tuesday that Gia Allemand, who appeared on Season 14 of the ABC show, was on life support.
She was taken to University Hospital in New Orleans on Monday following a “serious medical event”, according to a statement released by her representative.
Gia Allemand almost made it to the final on the Jake Pavelka season of the hit ABC show, losing out to Vienna Girardi.
Gia Allemand has died a day after being admitted to hospital following a serious medical event
Jake Pavelka has already reacted to the news of his former co-stars passing, tweeting: “I had to pull over, I can’t stop crying. We have lost an angel.”
Last night Jake Pavelka posted a message, asking people to pray for her: “Please pray for @GiaAllemand… A dear friend and one of the sweetest women I know… #powerofprayer.”
Gia Allemand went on to find love after The Bachelor and has been dating basketball player Ryan Anderson of the New Orleans Pelicans.
The sports star and her mother have been by Gia’s side in hospital since last night after Anderson made a mercy dash to be with her as soon as he heard the news.
Gia Allemand’s representative said: “On behalf of the family, we kindly ask for privacy at this time.”
Melinda Farina, a friend of Gia Allemand, tweeted late last night that the model was “on life support w [sic] little pulse and barely breathing …cause unknown”. “Next 48 hours critical please pray for Gia everyone.”
She also told one particular fan that the incident “could have been an adverse reaction to something”.
But, the source who confirmed that Gia Allemand is on life support also said the unexplained event was not an adverse reaction.
After the Bachelor in 2010, Gia Allemand – a model and actress – later joined the cast of reality series Bachelor Pad in 2010 but only made it to the third episode.
