Angelina Jolie has ovaries removed after cancer scare

Husband Brad Pitt flew back from France to be with the actress who took the decision two years after undergoing a preventative double mastectomy due to her family history of cancer

                          

Angelina Jolie has described the difficult decision to have her ovaries removed after a cancer scare.

The Hollywood star, who had a preventative double mastectomy two years ago, underwent the operation to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes in recent days and her husband, Brad Pitt, flew back from France to be her by her side. The operation will put her into forced menopause.

Miss Jolie, 39, carries a mutation in the BRCA1 gene that gave her an 87 per cent risk of breast cancer and a 50 per cent risk of ovarian cancer. Her mother, grandmother and aunt all died from cancer.

In an article for the New York Times headlined "Diary of a Surgery" the actress said she had been planning preventative surgery to remove her ovaries for a while but thought she had time in hand.

                     

Then, two weeks ago, she received a call from her doctor saying there were markers that could be a sign of early cancer.

Miss Jolie wrote: "I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn't live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren.

"I called my husband in France, who was on a plane within hours. The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters. It is polarising, and it is peaceful.

"That same day I went to see the surgeon, who had treated my mother. I last saw her the day my mother passed away, and she teared up when she saw me: 'You look just like her.' I broke down."

The actress and UN envoy described how she needed to wait five days for results, which passed in a "haze" while she did things such as watching her children's football game.

When her scan came back it was clear but she chose not to wait any longer to have her ovaries removed.

Miss Jolie said she decided to share her experience to make good on a promise to follow up with information for other women at risk of cancer, having previously written about her double mastectomy.

She wanted to encourage women to seek advice about health issues, adding: "Knowledge is power."

She wrote: "I did not do this solely because I carry the BRCA1 gene mutation, and I want other women to hear this. A positive BRCA test does not mean a leap to surgery.

"The most important thing is to learn about the options and choose what is right for you personally. In my case, the Eastern and Western doctors I met agreed that surgery to remove my tubes and ovaries was the best option."

                 

The actress gave details of the procedure she underwent which was called a laparoscopic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.

She wrote: "I am now in menopause. I will not be able to have any more children, and I expect some physical changes.

"But I feel at ease with whatever will come, not because I am strong but because this is a part of life. It is nothing to be feared. I know my children will never have to say, 'Mom died of ovarian cancer'."

Kerry Washington Accepts the Vanguard Award at the 2015 GLAAD Media Awards & Delivers a Powerful Speech – Watch

Hollywood actress Kerry Washington was the recipient of the Vanguard Award at the recently held 2015 GLAAD Media awards and as she was presented the award the gorgeous actress gave a powerful speech.

The 38-year-old actress started off her speech by saying:

On Monday morning, people are going to click a link to hear what that woman from Scandal said at that awards show, and so, I think some stuff needs to be said. Women, poor people, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, trans people, intersex people…have been pitted against each other and made to feel like there are limited seats at the table for those of us who fall into the category of other. We need more diverse LGBT representation [in the media]. And this is big — we need more employment of LGBT people, in front of and behind the camera. We can’t say that we believe in each other’s fundamental humanity and then turn a blind eye to the reality of each other’s existence and the truth of each other’s hearts.

                                      

                                     

Actress Ruth Kadiri Looks Stunning In New Pics As She Turns A Year Older

                                        

                                       

                                 

'The bed bangs up against the wall!' Kim Kardashian reveals her mother Kris Jenner's is keeping her awake with toyboy Corey Gamble

                      

She called time on her 23-year marriage to husband Bruce last year and it seems Kris Jenner is in no hurry to walk down the aisle again.

As her romance with toyboy beau Corey Gamble was seen heating up on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kris assured daughter Khloe she was not rushing into another serious relationship.

'We're just hanging out right now,' the Kardashian family matriarch said coyly when asked by Khloe if they were dating. 'I don't think I will ever get married again.'

You can f*** whoever you want, just don't get married right now,' Khloe advised.

The state of Kris's love life was on everyone's lips on Sunday's episode of the hit reality TV show.

Speaking to Kylie Jenner, Scott Disick said: 'She's newly single. We've got to get her in the playing field. I just don't know what kind of man she expects or is going to want at this point.'

'I think the same age, but I don't think she thinks the same age,' Kylie quipped.

'She thinks the "same age" is 40 and she's not 40,' Scott laughed.

'She's a cougar,' Kylie said.

A horrified Kris caught Scott, Kylie and Kendall looking through her text messages to see who she had been flirting with.

'It must be very difficult to jump back into the dating world 23 years later, but if she's sexting with other guys it's very odd because 20 years ago I don’t think you were getting laid over text messages,' Scott said.

'I don't know if Kris googled "how to be sexy over text" but she's doing it and it's inappropriate and very uncomfortable.'

As Kim expressed concern that her mother was ignoring her advice to take it slow, Scott pointed out: 'Didn't you get married both times after a couple of months?']

But the self-confessed 'Lord' Disick was left open-mouthed when Kim revealed she had heard some strange noises coming from her mother’s bedroom.

'The bed bangs up against the wall. I was literally trying to pass out and I woke up and I swear I thought I heard moaning,' she said.

'That’s disgusting. I have the worst visual,' Khloe said.

Kris, who was later seen getting cosy with Corey in a Las Vegas nightclub, said she was feeling exasperated at all the questions about her love life.

'I can't do anything right,' she told Khloe, who pointed out a bruise on her neck and said: 'You got the hickey right though.'

'It's not a hickey,' Kris protested.

It's so annoying that my family is being so judgmental because all I really want to do is live my life.

'Everybody wants to know what the title is, everybody wants answers. It's like a bunch of haters.'

'We just want you to be happy and have fun,' Khloe reassured her mother.

'Life is about having fun,' Kim added.

Kourtney, meanwhile, managed to upset Kim by kicking up a fuss when her sister asked if she would appear as a character in her Glu Mobile video game.

'I just don't get why they use our name and likeness but don’t pay us,' she said.

'Kourtney's always difficult,' Kim told the cameras. 'When we were first starting our careers I would do anything to help them out.'

Kourtney doesn't have to lift a finger, she doesn't have to do anything. She should do this for me with no questions asked.'

During a heated row with her sister, Kim said Scott had advised her to buy Kourtney a pair of shoes to sweet-talk her into taking part.

Kim said: 'I said to Scott 'I'm not buying her a pair of shoes, I bought her a f***ing career. It's just lame to not do me a favour.'

But the mother-of-one was left stunned when she received a cease and desist letter from Kourtney, ordering her to stop pressing her about the game.

'Obama has a character and Kourtney Kardashian is being difficult,' Kim laughed.

But she eventually decided to apologise to her sister for not simply asking her for a favour and told her she had managed to negotiate a fee.

'I appreciate the apology and I'm happy to do it,' Kourtney said.

''I'll get your check over a.s.a.p.' Kim replied.

While Kourtney and Kim were rowing over video games, Khloe and Scott attended a Halloween party in Ottawa, Canada dressed as a cat and a Saudi Prince.

Khloe upset her Instagram followers when she posted a photo and captioned it 'Sheik p***y.'

'I have to be more aware of what I write, even if it's tongue in cheek,' she later admitted.

Scott confessed he was finding it hard to attend meet and greet events where everyone was drinking around him.

'Doing events and parties is one of my jobs, so I don't want to mess that up and I feel like I can't go to these things and act like an animal. I just don't want to not be able to drink at all because then all I think about is drinking,' he said.

                            

                            

                            

JOHN LEGEND ON CHRISSY TEIGEN NUDE PICS: 'WE DON'T MIND SHOWING OFF OUR BODIES'

John Legnend has no problem with wife  Chrissy Teigen taking off her clothes. Especially when he does it, too. Teigen was recently photographed in the nude by paparazzi as she participated in a photo shoot, and Legend reveals he was posing for the camera, too.

“We don’t mind showing off our bodies,” he tells “Entertainment Tonight.” “We just feel like there’s no problem being natural and nude when you’re with the right photographer and it’s done the right way. We weren’t shy about it.” Legend explains, “We were working with Bruce Weber, who’s one of the greatest photographers on the planet. We wanted to do some great stuff.”

The singer goes on to laugh, “Some lucky paparazzo caught wind of it. But Bruce’s presentation will be a lot better.” So, where was Legend when the paparazzi captured Teigen naked? “I think when they caught some of that stuff I was back there changing, so I wasn’t able to guard her properly apparently,” he says. The finished pictures will appear in an upcoming issue of DuJuour.

                        

Rob Kardashian appears to compare sister Kim to psychotic Gone Girl murderer as he shares still of Rosamund Pike's character splattered with blood

                                             

It looks as if there could be some deep anger among the Kardashian siblings.

Rob, the son of Kris Jenner and the late Robert Kardashian, made a disturbing Instagram post on Sunday where he drew a parallel between his sister Kim, 34, and the cunning villain of the 2014 drama Gone Girl, played by Rosamund Pike.

'This is my sister Kim, the b**** from Gone Girl,' the 28-year-old E! star wrote in his caption.

                                      

                             

The comparison is far from flattering as Pike played a ruthless Manhattan trust fund beauty who went to great lengths to put her cheating husband, played by Ben Affleck, in a terrible light.

The character lied, faked her death and even murdered an ex-boyfriend (played by Neil Patrick Harris).

This post signs that the chill has gotten even stronger between Rob - who has not been seen in public in months - and Kim, who is more famous than ever now that she is married to Kanye West and has his child, North, aged one.

                     

Sister Khloe Kardashian, 30, is concerned that younger brother Rob is suffering from social anxiety.

The beauty admits that Rob is not at his 'happiest place' but maintains hope that he will get there soon.

It was announced in June 2014 that Rob wanted nothing more to do with the E! reality TV show that made sisters Kim, Kourtney, Kendall and Kylie, as well as mum Kris and step dad Bruce Jenner, famous. 

                                    

After a significant weight gain and a falling out with Kim about her wedding to Kanye West, it was decided that Rob would no longer receive an ongoing storyline in the show and is now rarely ever seen.

Speaking to WonderWall this week, Khloe said: 'I just feel, especially over the last year, Rob has become very introverted and has a kind of social anxiety.

'He’s definitely not at his happiest place that he once was, and I know he can get to that happy place and he will.

'We all kind of get to a place where you don't know where to go in life or whatever, so I think it's important for him to know that he always has people to lean on and it's not unnatural for people to not know where to begin. It's a growing process. I will always be his No. 1 supporter.' 

Khloe was speaking as she hosted a party at Las Vegas’s 1 OAK nightclub, something the confident blonde is now familiar with. 

                                                        

And while his sisters continue to dominate the headlines and the magazine covers, Rob has faded increasingly into the shadow of their high profile lives in the last year.

Last week, family rallied around on social media to wish their brother a very happy birthday as he marked his 28th.

Posting a sentimental snap to Instagram, Khloe wrote: 'Happy birthday @robkardashian!!!!!! Never will I ever meet another man as great as you! I know this is the year where you will find your happiness again! 

                                    

'I will be right by your side, holding your hand, every step of the way!!! I adore you my one and only brother!! Happy Happy Happy birthday!!' 

To his birthday party, Radar Online reports that Rob only invited sisters Kourtney and Khloe, along with nieces North West and Penelope Disick.

Mother Kris meanwhile, appeared to be away for the week in a paradise location, accompanied by actress Melanie Griffith. 

                

Rob is said to have fallen out with big sister Kim around the time of her wedding to Kanye, with whom she has daughter North West.

At the time, reports by In Touch Weekly claimed Rob had been 'self-medicating with strong prescription painkillers, doing heavy drugs and taking Sizzurp, a combination of prescription-strength cough syrup and sugary soda.'

                           

My grouse with journalists, politicians and the elections — Odunlade Adekola

                                                

Odunlade Jonathan Adekola is today a man of relevance in the Yoruba sector of Nollywood. Tall, highly amiable and friendly, Odun, as he is fondly called, by his closest fans, entered into the film industry ….and sees himself being fulfilled doing theatre in Nigeria. However, we caught up with him at a location in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and he has this to say about the forthcoming elections and how the administration should assist the film makers against the activities of pirates. Excerpts:

By Bashir Adefaka and Aderonke Adeyeri

How did it start?

I started acting when I was very young in Abeokuta, Ogun State. It all began in the church. My friend, Tunde and I, used to present a two cast play during our church anniversary. Along the line, I was introduced to one theatre group with whom I joined in 1996. And I have been in the business from that time till today.

We tend to hear many controversial stories about you. What do you think is responsible?

I think the media should take responsibility of that. Some journalists do often forget the ethics of their profession due to some factors. But I will appeal to them to always investigate any story before they publish. This is important, because even journalists themselves have their own private lives. I can mention few of them that drink, smoke and even womanise. People don’t know about it because nobody can write about it.

And they cannot write against themselves?

They can’t write against themselves. They drink, smoke, womanise and do all those things they write about.

But why do you think journalists are the cause of these scam reports? Don’t you think some people within your circle are giving these stories to the press and the press publish them relying on the fact that you have the right of reply ?

I don’t know if I get your question right, that journalists don’t drink, smoke…

I am saying you seem to be blaming journalists for what you consider misrepresentation about you…?

(Cuts in) Jesus Christ! They have not written anything bad about me. They have written many stories about me even when they don’t ask me and none of them has been a bad story. However, whether they write bad or good about me, I always see it as normal thing because if you are dead today, they won’t write anything about you any more.

It is either, like you said, people go to them and give them such scam stories or they on their own cook up stories. But I don’t care. There should be an arrangement by a body of journalists in Nigeria to stop the reporting of scams about us and even about other people. The body should remind the media practitioners that only by being positive about the job will earn them good lives and for the good of the society too. It should also be spelt out that it is not compulsory that you bring people down before you are known or before you make it in life. Or does it make sense that you should kill some people because you want to rise up (laughs)?.

Economists say whatever affects environment affects the business. The business that determines how every business thrives in Nigeria currently is that of politics. What is the role of actors in nation building and in the electioneering process?

Many parties are using us for campaigns. But I will just say to the politicians that we are all human beings and we see what is happening. Whoever is in position of authority should try to make this country as good as one of those countries we all aspire to travel to .

Advertising and campaigning for politicians?

We are only playing our roles as actors. The only thing that will give us joy is when our politicians begin to perform up to our expectation.

Now, as a contributor to the national economy, what are your expectations from whoever emerges to form the next government among the politicians and what contribution will you make to ensure the new government succeed?

The politicians need entertainers, they need actors to campaign for them. When they get there, they should not forget us. They should call and ask us questions as per what we need and what we can do to contribute positively to the nation. The collaboration they are doing with us now should go beyond election period to after election.

Film making entails different stages which I know is not an easy job. But the industry has not been able to overcome piracy. Is this part of what you will like put in place before the government after election?

Politicians are the ones in power and all we can do is to continue to pray for them. But we can also let them know that people who are in power today will be remembered only for their performances in future. However, we have been crying and lamenting about the activities of pirates who deny us from reaping the fruits of our labour. The government needs to intervene. This is the major problem confronting us as film producers in Nigeria and zero tolerance for corruption will go a long way in solving this problem.

Finally, how many films have you produced?

(Laughs) They are many but I can just mention few: Sunday Dagboru, Omo Adugbo, these will hit the market soon; Alani Pamolekun, Fayebora, Maakofun e,

Cossy Orjiako to produce he first movie

                                   
Th Nollwood actress Cossy Orjiakor to release her first movie entitled the power girls. The boobilicious Nigeria actress twitted this to break the news to her fans when she posted this message.

"We are doing our very first movie entitled power girls. It is m very first project as a producer under play girls picture. Wish me luck".

Justin Bieber puts on an affectionate display with model Ashley Moore as he sits on her lap during Los Angeles Clippers basketball game

                              

He has been linked with the likes of models Kendall Jenner, Hailey Baldwin and Yovanna Ventura since his split from Selena Gomez in towards the end of 2014.

And now it seems that another model beauty has caught the pop star’s eye after Justin was seen putting on an affectionate display with striking beauty, Ashley Moore.

The pair were pictured together as they watched the Los Angeles Clippers take on the Washington Wizards at the Staples Center on Friday.

Seated in a box with a group of pals, Ashley and a blonde companion were joined by Justin, who chose to get comfortable on Ashley’s lap. Wrapping his arm around the 21-year-old, he was seen smiling down at her as he stroked her hair. The singer then placed a tender kiss on her forehead as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

                   

It’s not the first time the pair has been seen together as they were first linked in August 2013 while out on a lunch date in Beverly Hills.

The pair were spotted arriving at the celebrity-favoured eatery Bouchon, rolling up in style in Bieber’s silver Ferrari coupé.

Ashley, who is signed to Nous Modelling Agency in Los Angeles, has also been romantically linked to Justin’s friend Lil Twist. 

The 5-foot, 8-inch tall model was previously pictured with Justin and Lil Twist on Fourth of July 2013.

Ashley has also featured on Justin Instagram page several times with the Baby hitmaker sharing sexy snap of the model captioned: ‘Ash I see u in ur #Calvin's – July 2014’. 

                    

                     

Ash I see u in ur #Calvin's – July 2014’: Ashley has also featured on Justin Instagram page several times with the Baby hitmaker sharing sexy snap of the model

                              

Nollywood actress Lilian Esoro denies she is Engaged to Iyanya Manager UBi Franklin

                                        
Some days ago, Ubi Franklin Iyanya's Managers engagement to Nollywood Actress Lilian Esoro went viral with fans and well wishers sending congratulation message to her.

The Nollywood actress denied the report through her blackberry phone

In her words, please oooo, stop the congratulatory message i am NOT yet engaged.

Read also Yemi Alade disapoints fans at Belin show
               

              Yvonne Nelson in Akwa Ibom For Nollywood project

Rita Ora nearly spills out of her VERY low cut silver crop top as she explains to Alan Carr why she enjoys wearing such revealing clothes

                                                          

Another day; another revealing outfit for Rita Ora. The singer appeared on Alan Carr's Chatty Man, airing on Friday night on Channel 4, in a very low cut silver crop top and found herself more than a little exposed. Even the host of the show had to comment to his guest: 'Even I'm looking at your breasts!'

The singer was forced to readjust her assets as she sat with her fellow The Voice mentors and told Alan, 'Every time I come on this show it’s something to do with my outfit.

'I didn’t know if I wanted to wear a bikini or a suit so I wore both.'

Rita's outfit was certainly a combination look, or a 'suitkini' as Will.i.am ventured.

The Adidas collaborator was wearing a jacket with only one arm and a double breasted fastening at the waist. 

The left had side however was bare and showed off her space age metallic halter-neck. 

She matched it with a pair of high waisted black suit trousers and very heavy black and silver smoky eyes.

See more picture below

                                  

                             

                                     

                         

Kudos as AfricaMagic Igbo Channel debuts

                               

Jubilation greeted the long-awaited launch of an Igbo channel on Africa Magic during the week which is designed to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Igbo nation. The 24-hour general entertainment channel follows the success of the Africa Magic Hausa and Yoruba channels and will go on air from April 2.

The launch of AfricaMagic Igbo which will be available on DStv channel 159 could not have come at a better time. M-Net, owners of the AfricaMagic channels that avail Africans with platforms to tell their stories from their perspective, is following a tradition of excellence that has long trailed its operations.

The launch of AfricaMagic Yoruba was hailed as a highly strategic move which helped to display the rich Yoruba culture in all its glory to a global audience. Thereafter followed the launch of AfricaMagic Hausa, a development which surprised quite a few people who were hitherto unaware that a vibrant movie industry existed in the northern part of the country.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Nollywood coordinated by Chief Harris Chuma has congratulated Africa Magic for the establishment of Igbo Channel on its platform.

Chief Chuma said, the launch of the Igbo Channel will help to boost the Igbo language film industry as well as encourage many into producing Igbo contents which have been on the decline. “We solicit film makers of Igbo extraction to see this medium as a veritable platform to showcase our rich cultural heritage, promote and project our cultural values. We have over the years clamoured for the establishment of an Igbo channel on Africa Magic, now that is a reality, we are hopeful that it will serve as a catalyst towards revitalising the dwindling fortunes of Igbo language films,” he said.

With the launch of Africa Magic Igbo, which brings to eight the total number of Africa Magic channels, follows the redefinition of the Africa Magic channels in 2014 and the recent refreshing of the Africa Magic Urban channel. Speaking on the launch, the Managing Director, M-Net (West Africa), Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said: “We are thrilled to announce the launch of Africa Magic Igbo.

Igbo language entertainment content has always played a prominent role in the Nigerian film and television industry and we are glad to offer a platform where this rich content can be showcased to the rest of Africa and the world. Popular Igbo language content like Living in Bondage, Nneka the Pretty Serpent and many others set the trend for the modern Nigerian film and television industry, or Nollywood as it’s called; it is thus only fitting that such content should be given a platform where it is easily accessible by audiences around the continent. With the launch of Africa Magic Igbo, we have once again proven our commitment to providing content made for Africa by Africans.”

Yemi Alade disappoints fans at Berlin show

                                      

Afro pop singer, Yemi Alade who is currently on European tour, suffered a setback last Sunday, in Berlin, Germany, where she was billed to perform to a large crowd but had to disappoint them. The songstress arrived the event venue 30 minutes behind schedule, and had to refunded ticket money bought by fans because she couldn’t go on and perform at the show.

Speaking on the matter, Yemi said, the organizers told her to arrive the venue at 2:00am but she did at 2:30 am. Unknown to her, the organizers had kept fans waiting since 10 pm. So, when she got there, several fans had left and those still at the venue had become violent and angry, so she couldn’t perform.

Alade, however, apologized to her fans in Dutch, meaning “The show promoters told me to come at 2:00, but I came at 2:30 am. I didn’t know they have been waiting since 22:00.” She said ,half the audience had left and some of the remaining were violent, so they took the microphone away from me, even when I insisted on performing…I’m so sorry, and I have the money refunded. The Afro pop singer has since performed in Paris, Lyon, Switzerland, Frankfurt, Italy among other European countries.

Read Also Yvonne Nelso in Akwa Ibom For movie project  

Yvonne Nelson in Akwa Ibom For Nollywood project

                   
The popular Ghanaian actress Yvonne Nelson In Akwa Ibom for a Movie project. See more picture below
                     

                     
                     

FROM LIL WAYNE TO DRAKE: BITCHES DRAKE SCREWED HIS GIRLFRIEND

                                

LIL WAYNE was ready to physically attack DRAKE  for screwing his girlfriend ... and Wayne says this himself in a book proposal he's shopping.

TMZ has obtained a portion of the proposal Wayne has sent to various publishing houses, and his story is crazy. Wayne claims while he was serving time at Rikers Island for gun possession, Drake visited him and glibly confessed, saying, "Yeah, it's true. Don't f*** with her like that cause I did f*** her."  

Wayne writes, "This is the type of s*** that a man never wants to find out when he's locked up. Or, maybe so, cause only God knows what I would have done if I wasn't locked up right now."

Wayne admits in the proposal he and his GF argued a lot, and that may be why Drake said, "Don't f*** with her like that." As for the timeline, Wayne says the woman told him she had sex with Drake the day before they met.

Wayne goes on, "I woke up feeling f***** up about the f***** up day that I had ... finding out that she f***** Drake was the absolute worst thing I could've ever found out."

And he says, "As a man, honestly, that s*** hurt ... and not because it was Drake, it could have been any man. It would've hurt the same."

Wayne then goes on and says he was so depressed he didn't come out of his cell for days.

We're told there's intense interest among publishers. We'll definitely read it.

Shocking pictures show how cockfighting birds have RAZORBLADES strapped to their legs to make it ‘more interesting’ at Mexico’s largest festival of the ‘disgusting’ bloodsport

Mexican cockfighting promoters on Friday kicked off an event billed as the largest exhibition of the bloodsport the country has ever seen.

The annual Texcoco Horse Fair, which takes places on the eastern fringes of Mexico City, will see 16 nightly bouts of cockfighting over the space of a month – all of which end in the death of one of the animals.

Trainers from all over the country compete not only for the title of best trainer, but also to keep alive what they claim is a proud Mexican tradition despite demands to ban the 'disgusting' sport.

           
   


                      
                       

Cockfighting is deeply embedded in Mexico's rural culture', Texcoco tourism spokeswoman Rosalinda Benitez told MailOnline on the opening night of the month-long bloodsport bonanza. 

'We want to showcase the proud tradition to our visitors'.

The event, which includes fairground attractions and one of Mexico's biggest horse auctions, expects to receive more than 600,000 visitors over the month.

                    

'Banning these events will never be accepted by the public', said Jaime Rodriguez, a Texcoco resident who looks forward to the annual fair every year. 

'This year they want to make clear how much the people love to come and watch quality cockfights'.

While cockfighting is banned in all 50 US states and Europe (it was banned in England in 1835), it nevertheless draws big crowds in Mexico, where fans come to gamble on the fights and drink until the early hours of the morning.

                         

                          

                    

                   

Cockfighting is also banned within the limits of Mexico City, four cities in the state of Veracruz and Coahuila state on the Texas border, but the bloodsport is nevertheless extremely popular in more rural areas of the country. 

Indeed the cockfighting arenas, known as palenques, are often the social hubs of many Mexican towns.

'Cockfighting is a family business', said Gregory Castillo, a gamecock trainer from Ranchito Gaby, one of the eight gamecock-producing ranches competing on the fair's opening night. 

'We get a good reception wherever we perform and people always come out to witness the spectacle. It always produces a good party atmosphere'.

Gregory had already seen two of his prize gamecocks die against superior opponents that evening, and was engaged in strapping the curved razorblade of Mexican cockfighting regulation onto the left leg of his third bird.

'The razorblades make for more interesting fights', he told the MailOnline as he spat on the rooster's head, a common technique to anger the bird before it enters the battle. 

'We train our animals to attack with their legs and feet first, and use the beak to finish the job later'

                      

                       

                   

The weapons attached to the birds' legs must be changed every five minutes in order to ensure they are not left blunted by the sand of the arena.

'It's a disgusting practice and there's no reason that it should continue simply because it's seen as tradition', said Leonora Esquivel, a leader of the AnimaNaturalis animal rights organisation, in a telephone interview with the MailOnline.

Leonora's organisation, which works closely with Mexico's Ecologist Green Party, is currently petitioning the government to put an end to animal cruelty in the country.

The group focuses particularly on bullfights, cockfighting and illegal dogfights which occur periodically around the capital.

Each cockfight runs for a maximum of 15 minutes, though most are over within two. Starting on the edge of the arena, the gamecocks are shown to one another, producing aggressive crowing, before being placed in their respective corners and let loose to attack one another.

The flurry of feathers, beaks and claws is rapid and furious. The male birds are extremely vicious and often emerge from the scuffles with their beaks filled with other's feathers. 

Even if a bird is injured and not attempting to fight any longer, it is permitted only a 15 second recovery period before being placed within a yard of its opponent and forced to continue. 

                           

                                 

                            

A fight is declared over only when one of the birds is lying dead on the arena floor.

The sport revolves entirely around gambling, and betting odds are always 2:1 on the fight's outcome. 

The gamecocks are displayed to the gamblers by being paraded around the circular arena, before being placed in front of a non-competitor mona ('monkey') gamecock to allow the gamblers to gauge their reactions.

'The more aggressively they peck, scratch and display their neck feathers at the mona, the more likely it is that they will be a good fighter', said Mauricio Alvarez, an observer in the crowd who had quadrupled his money over the previous two fights. 

'But sometimes it comes completely down to luck. A weak bird might land a fatal blow with the razor and it's all over'.

Bookmakers patrol the circular arena taking bets whenever a fight is not in progress. The high-rollers are always invited to seats within five rows of the arena and bookies' fees are negotiated depending on the size of the bets.