| | |  | Angelina Jolie News & Gossip
|
|
| | Angelina Jolie to be named UN Special Representative on the Afghan refugee crisis | | Added 14 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
|
|
|
|
|
These are some additional photos from the Geneva awards ceremony where Angelina Jolie was honored for her decade?s worth of work as a goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR. In addition to helping hand out the Nansen Refugee Award to a Yemeni refugee-advocacy and humanitarian organization, Jolie also made some comments designed to bring attention to the plight of Somali refugees - you can read her comments here.
When Jolie was honored (with a gold pin) for her UNHCR work, her speech gave the impression that she was simply going to be a goodwill ambassador for years to come. However, it seems like the UN wants to give Angelina a whole new role: Special Representative to the Afghan Refugee Crisis. She?s like the movie star version of (the late) Richard Holbrooke.
Angelina Jolie will be taking on a new role in the world’s most complex and dramatic refugee crises, the American actress and United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said Tuesday. UNHCR sources told Reuters that she would be named Special Representative on the Afghan refugee situation, to help resolve the fate of 2.7 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran.
Jolie, who has served for 10 years as goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and donated $5 million to its aid operations, declined to be specific, telling reporters: “We are looking at a few countries in the world.
“We’re hoping to discuss it in the next few weeks but we want to research it properly and do it well,” she said after addressing a meeting of UNHCR’s Executive Committee in Geneva.
Antonio Guterres, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, told the talks that Jolie would become “our special envoy mainly for the most dramatic refugee situations that require a lot of advocacy” and to mobilize strong international support.
“We will be asking you to do more and more in this regard,” he said. Jolie’s diplomatic skills, vision and insights would be harnessed to tackle “some of the most complex problems we face.”
“VULNERABLE YET RESILIENT” REFUGEES
The Oscar-winning Jolie, dressed in black, said that refugees whom she had met during her 40 field missions for UNHCR in hotspots from Pakistan to Kenya were “among the most vulnerable and yet the most resilient people in the world.”
“My personal experiences with UNHCR have been moving, sometimes heartbreaking, but always rewarding and unforgettable,” she said.
Jolie, who makes her directorial debut with the Bosnian wartime romance film “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” due to be released in December, has six children.
On recent UNHCR missions to Malta and Tunisia, she met families who had fled their native Somalia only to be uprooted again by fresh conflict in Libya, she said.
“I tried to imagine what it must have been like for a mother with children. To risk her life at sea trying to get to Europe from North Africa,” she said, noting that some ruthless smugglers had been known to throw women and children overboard. She recalled a visit in March to the Afghan village of Qala Gadu, north of Kabul, where girls’ schools and teachers remain targets of violence. A girl named Sahira pledged to complete her studies through 12th grade if the actress helped build a school.
“It’s not hard to say yes, knowing that as an Afghan, her word is her bond. An education is her basic human right and she should not be denied it any longer. Sahira is the future of Afghanistan. After decades of displacement and many years of war, we are entering a defining moment for Afghanistan,” Jolie added.
The September 20 killing of Burhanuddin Rabbani, Kabul’s chief peace negotiator, derailed efforts to forge dialogue with the Taliban to end the 10-year war and raised fears of a dangerous widening of Afghanistan’s ethnic rifts.
Although millions of Afghans have returned home in the past decade, Pakistan and Iran still host 1.7 million and 1 million Afghan refugees, respectively, according to the agency. Jolie made a surprise appearance Monday night at the UNHCR’s ceremony to honor a Yemeni aid group credited with rescuing thousands of desperate Somali refugees who arrive in Yemen each year.
[From Reuters]
If she?s officially named ?Special Representative? to the Afghan refugee crisis, it will be interesting to see what Jolie can do with a much narrower, more focused cause. My guess is that she would thrive in the role, under set parameters, but that she would miss traveling to refugee crises beyond Afghanistan. Still, Angelina loves Afghanistan and Pakistan - she?s made numerous goodwill trips (and USO trips to Kabul). One of her first trips with the UNHCR - before she even became a goodwill ambassador - was to the Afghan refugee camps in Northern Pakistan. And that was BEFORE 9/11.
Photos courtesy of the UNHCR & Fame.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Angelina Jolie honored in Geneva after a decade with the UNHCR | | Added 14 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
|
|
|
|
|
Angelina Jolie has completed ten years of work as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, and to recognize her decade with the organization, Jolie was honored at a joint ceremony in Geneva on Monday. The joint ceremony part was because the UNHCR was also awarding their prestigious Nansen Refugee Award to the Society for Humanitarian Solidarity, a Yemeni refugee organization.
When she spoke, Angelina told the audience of ?200 government officials, diplomats, donors and aid workers? that: “It is an honor to work on behalf of refugees, and I look forward to the next 10 years? I’m so grateful to the many refugee families that I have had the honor and privilege to spend the last years with. From them I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned to become a better person, a better mother. They’ve inspired me by showing me every day the unbreakable strength of the human spirit.” Here?s more from the UNHCR press release:
The UN refugee agency paid lavish tribute on Monday night to award-winning American actress Angelina Jolie and Yemeni humanitarian aid group Society for Humanitarian Solidarity (SHS) for their outstanding work for refugees over many years.
Before an audience of 200 government officials, diplomats, donors and aid workers, Jolie was recognized for completing 10 years as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, while the founder and 290 staff of SHS received the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award for their live-saving work helping tens of thousands of desperate boat people arriving on the coast of Yemen from the Horn of Africa.
“This award motivates us to increase our effort to helping those who are in need,” said SHS founder Nasser Salim Ali Al-Hamairy, while Jolie told the audience, “It is an honour to work on behalf of refugees and I look forward to the next 10 years.”
Lauding Jolie, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antnio Guterres said, “She is the very best of the goodwill ambassadors that exist in the humanitarian world.”
In a slick ceremony presided over by former British politician and broadcast journalist Sir Martin Bell, Norwegian musician Sivert Hoyem warmed up the audience with two songs before a tribute to Angelina Jolie and her work for UNHCR was screened in Geneva’s distinctive 19th Century Btiment des Forces Motrices, a former water pumping station on the River Rhone.
“I’m so grateful to the many refugee families that I have had the honour and privilege to spend the last years with. From them I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned to become a better person, a better mother,” Jolie said. “They’ve inspired me by showing me every day the unbreakable strength of the human spirit.”
The actress, who was presented with a gold pin, has visited almost 30 countries worldwide as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador over the past decade, including Tunisia, Turkey, Malta and Italy this year alone.
In the highlight of the evening, Jolie and Guterres presented the Nansen Refugee Medal to SHS founder Al-Hamairy, whose non-governmental humanitarian organization has since 1995 been helping people fleeing by smugglers’ boats across the Gulf of Aden. SHS also helps needy local communities.
“I do think they deserve the recognition of the international community,” said Guterres, while Jolie also paid tribute to the Yemeni aid workers. “The staff of SHS often risk their own lives to save others,” she said, describing their life-saving assistance as “extraordinary.”
The Nansen Refugee Award was created in 1954 in honour of Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat and politician who in the 1920s became the first international High Commissioner for Refugees.
It is given annually to an individual or organization for outstanding work on behalf of refugees and consists of a commemorative medal and a US$100,000 monetary prize donated by the governments of Switzerland and Norway. The winner can donate spend the funds on a project approved by the Nansen committee.
Past winners include Eleanor Roosevelt, Tanzania’s late President Julius Nyerere, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Graa Machel, late Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti and last year’s winner, photographer Alixandra Fazzina. A number of humanitarian organizations, and partners of UNHCR, have also won the award, including the League of Red Cross Societies. Mdecins Sans Frontires, Handicap International and the UN Volunteers. In 1986, the Nansen went to the people of Canada.
Monday’s event was supported by the Swiss and Norwegian governments, the Canton of Geneva, the City of Geneva, the IKEA Foundation and the Norwegian Refugee Council, which also helped to organize the presentation ceremony.
[From UNHCR]
Oh, so she got a gold pin. I was wondering if they gave her a plaque or something, but a gold pin is nice, and look, it probably wasn?t very big and it was probably donated, so don?t start in on ?that gold pin money could have been used to save a refugee!? She?s worked for the UNHCR for a decade, and she?s going to continue to work there for decades to come. It?s nice that she got a small token of appreciation, because she really is one of the best, most prominent ambassadors working for any UN organization - and getting attention IS the job.
Also, in the header pic, doesn?t it look like Angelina is wearing a dress that?s very similar to the one Duchess Kate just wore last week? Interesting.
Photos courtesy of the UNHCR & WENN.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Angelina Jolie took Shiloh & Zahara to get their ears pierced, Zahara cried | | Added 14 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
|
|
|
|
|
I can?t believe I know this, but do you remember how Angelina Jolie pierced Vivienne?s ears when she was just a baby? Viv has been wearing earrings for a while now. Well, I had never really noticed that neither Shiloh nor Zahara had their ears pierced. That?s according to a British tabloid, although a two-minute search through older photos confirmed that Z and Shiloh never seem to be wearing earrings until this week (as you can see in these photos). Anyway, The Sun claims that Angelina just took her two oldest girls into a London salon to get their ears pierced, and hilarity ensued. Hint: only the Empress was brave enough to go through with it.
Shiloh and Zahara Jolie-Pitt are becoming little women. Accompanied by mom Angelina Jolie, the 5 and 6-year-old sisters recently went to a small salon in London to get their ears pierced, according to The Sun.
“The eldest girl picked out some pretty 18-carat gold studs ad gave them to her mom,” a source told the British newspaper.
“The piercing gun was a bit too painful for her and she screamed then burst into tears. She was saying it felt like a stapler, so her little sister changed her mind about having hers done.”
Despite Shiloh’s last-minute decision to opt out of the rite of passage, a source told The Sun that “they all left with big smiles on their faces.”
“Angelina bought them another little gift to make sure they both felt special,” the source added.
The Jolie-Pitts are currently staying in London while patriarch Brad Pitt, 47, films World War Z. Jolie recently took Zahara and Shiloh — along with 3-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne — to visit Gwen Stefani’s home for a playdate with Kingston, 5.
“All of the kids are very close in age,” a source tells Us Weekly. “They’ve attended each other’s birthday parties and gotten together several times at each other’s homes.”
[From Us Weekly]
Aw, what are big sisters for? I love that Shiloh had every intention of getting her ears done but when Z went first, Shi chickened out. Oh, and Z ?screamed then burst into tears???? OMG, poor Z! I always forget that she has moments when she?s just a little girl and not our soon-to-be empress.
Sidenote: I let my holes grow over years ago, because I got so tired of wearing earrings. Should I get them re-pierced? I?ve been debating it for a while. Thoughts?
Oh, and this is the best Shiloh photo EVER. I imagine this is the face she made when Z screamed.
Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Angelina Jolie & Gwen Stefani have a playdate with the kids in London | | Added 14 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
|
|
|
|
|
Back in the day, right after Angelina gave birth to Shiloh in Namibia and the Jolie-Pitt family had returned to America, Angelina and Brad started spending some time with Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale. Little Kingston and Shiloh were born just days apart, and if I remember correctly, Zuma?s birth was close to Angelina?s pregnancy with the twins too (I just looked it up - Gwen and Angelina were pregnant at the same time again, and gave birth within a month of each other then too). Anyway, I was never really sure if Angelina and Brad kept up their end of the celebrity friendship - they?re always traveling and such, but it looks like Gwen and Angelina managed to organize a playdate for the kids in London. Angelina took her four youngest kids over to Gwen and Gavin?s London home, and I?m sure chaos ensued. These are some photos of Angelina and the kids leaving - you can see more here at the Mail.
Angelina Jolie and Gwen Stefani bonded in 2006 after giving birth within a day of each other. And it seems their low-key friendship still runs strong. The Tourist actress was spotted taking some of her brood for a playdate at the pop star’s London home today.
The 36-year-old, who is in the city while her partner Brad Pitt shoots his new film World War Z, arrived at the Primrose Hill abode with Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5, and 3-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox in tow.
She gently encouraged her tentative charges out of the car and inside the property and later sent her security guard off to collect dinner from the local Wagamama noodle restaurant. The No Doubt star’s son Kingston was born the day before Shiloh, while her youngest Zuma is now the same age Angelina’s twins.
The Hollywood mothers are said to have a firm friendship, which has largely played out away from the cameras. Gwen, 41, joined Angelina and Brad for a celebratory dinner in May after the premiere of his film Tree of Life at the Cannes Film Festival.
And Brad and Gwen’s husband Gavin Rossdale have bonded too - in 2006, soon after the births of Shiloh and Kingston, they spent the Fourth of July weekend jet skiing and riding quad bikes together.
Gwen’s family split their time between the U.S. and U.K. while Angelina is expected to stay in London until Brad’s film wraps up.
[From The Mail]
I can?t even imagine what Gwen and Angelina have to say to each other. I mean, Gwen seems so girly and maybe even a little bit ditzy, and Angelina is so? somber. Does Angelina ever get silly? Will she and Gwen share a bottle of wine and bitch about Brad and Gavin? Does Angelina ever go into sexual details about Brad with Gwen the Girlfriend? I really, really want to know now. Judging from Angelina?s smiley face as she?s leaving, she and Gwen had a nice visit.
As for the kids, here are some random thoughts?.It looks like Kingston and Shiloh got into the face paint. Zahara does not look amused. I wonder if Kingston is more into Shiloh, his contemporary, or Z, the older woman? Little Knox is always so chill, and I have my fingers crossed that he?ll be a full-blown ginger, like a Fassbender-Jolie-Pitt (GAH! THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN). And little Vivienne has grown out of the tantrum stage and now she just has the best little expressions EVER.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Angelina Jolie takes Maddox flying in England: why is she not stateside? | | Added 14 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
|
|
|
|
|
Fame Pictures claims that these are photos of Angelina Jolie taking a “flying lesson” in Surrey, England. But? Angelina already has an American and a UK pilot?s license, as far as I know. Maybe she?s just getting lessons on a new-fangled plane? Or maybe Mr. Curly is her new lover. YES. That?s it. They?re going to rendezvous in the skies.
There are another set of photos at another agency - go here to see - where it looks like Angelina took Maddox out for a joy-ride on this plane. I don?t know if these photos are from the same day, the same outing or whatever. Is Maddox blocking his mom?s rendezvous with Mr. Curly?
Up, up and away! Angelina Jolie treated son Maddox to a taste of the high life when he accompanied her during a flying lesson in Hampshire, England on Friday.
Rocking a grey maxi dress topped with a black jacket, the mom-of-six, 36, flashed a huge grin while her eldest son — toting an iPad — strapped into the rear of the plane before takeoff.
But Maddox, 10, isn’t the first kid to join Jolie in the friendly skies. Shiloh, 5, went for a ride in a small aircraft last year in L.A. And In 2008, the star even flew her plane while pregnant with twins Knox and Vivienne, 3.
The actress — who received her pilot’s license in 2005 — confessed at the time that her favorite hobby was inspired by her eldest son. “Every time Mad sees a plane, he’s amazed,” Jolie has said. “If I could actually fly a plane. . . I’ll be like Superman to him.”
Maddox’s dad, Brad Pitt, 47, is currently stateside promoting his new flick Moneyball.
[From Us Weekly]
Here?s a question: why is Angelina still in England? Has Brad finished filming World War Z? Or does he have to go back to England to finish the production, and Angelina is just waiting for him to come back? Or is something else going on? Like? maybe Angelina is pissed off about his assistant and so she just decided to stay in England with the kids?
Also: Angelina always looks so genuinely happy when she?s around planes. She really does love it.
Photos courtesy of Fame.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Angelina Jolie & Maddox: Flying the Friendly Skies | | Added 14 years ago | Source: Celebrity Gossip |
|
|
|
|
|
Killing time in the UK, Angelina Jolie was spotted taking private flying lessons in London, England today (September 23).
The ?Changeling? chick took her beaming boy Maddox along for the outing, as the pair were all smiles as they hopped out of a luxury chauffeured car and directly into a small plane with an instructor.
The outing comes as Angelina?s longtime boyfriend Brad Pitt recently told press that their big brood of kids are once again pressuring them to get married.
He shared, ?The kids are putting on the heat. They really are.? But as always, Pitt and Jolie aren?t saying ?I Do? until gay marriage is legal. ?We live in this great country that is about freedom. It is defined by our freedom and equality and yet we allow this discrimination to go on every day and that?s not what we?re about.?
More Photos Here
    |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie: 45 Park Lane Lovers! | | Added 14 years ago | Source: Celebrity Gossip |
|
|
|
|
|
With his "World War Z" filming duties moving to England's capital city, Brad Pitt was alongside partner Angelina Jolie in London on Sunday morning (September 18).
The "Se7en" stud was clad in all-black while his "Changeling" actress wife opted for a gray look upon exiting the 45 Park Lane hotel after spending the night at the posh locale.
The sighting comes as Pitt recently interviewed with Entertainment Weekly about a range of topics including his joint "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" effort with Jolie, as he told, ?A husband and wife who actually want to kill each other?I thought that was a launching pad for something really fun and vibrant. Again, that was something we were developing as we were going along, and Angie?s a great partner in that. We work really well together. We had some good workshops beforehand. Had some good laughs and ideas. That was just a great collaboration that turned into a greater collaboration.?
Also addressing the possibility of working alongside his lady in the future, the 47-year-old dished, ?We should be doing them together?that?s what we should be doing. We should be doing everything together, and then we could work less. We could have more time off.?
More Photos Here
    |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | "Moneyball" Man Brad Pitt Covers Entertainment Weekly | | Added 14 years ago | Source: Celebrity Gossip |
|
|
|
|
|
In promotional mode as he readies for the release of his new movie "Moneyball," Brad Pitt nabbed the latest cover of Entertainment Weekly.
Set to hit newsstands tomorrow (September 16), the 47-year-old chatted with the magazine about his People's Sexiest Man Alive status, as well as working with partner Angelina Jolie.
Highlights from Pitt's interview are as follows. For more, be sure to visit EW!
On his Sexiest Man Alive status:
?Well, they?re not saying you?re the Biggest A?hole, you know? When you get older, you realize it?s just for fun. Clooney and I were able to have fun with it later. But in some ways, I?m still a kid from Missouri and Oklahoma and I?m trying to find my way. By the way, we?re only talking about a blip. I didn?t spend much time thinking about it.?
On his joint "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" effort with Angelina Jolie: ?A husband and wife who actually want to kill each other?I thought that was a launching pad for something really fun and vibrant. Again, that was something we were developing as we were going along, and Angie?s a great partner in that. We work really well together. We had some good workshops beforehand. Had some good laughs and ideas. That was just a great collaboration that turned into a greater collaboration.?
On the possibility of working alongside his lady in the future: ?We should be doing them together?that?s what we should be doing. We should be doing everything together, and then we could work less. We could have more time off.?
More Photos Here
    |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie's "Moneyball" TIFF Premiere Night | | Added 14 years ago | Source: Celebrity Gossip |
|
|
|
|
|
Hitting the red carpet side-by-side, Brad Pitt was joined by Angelina Jolie at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival on Friday evening (September 9).
The lovely couple worked the press area at Roy Thomson Hall as the "Fight Club" stud premiered his latest movie "Moneyball" during the annual north of the border festivities.
The press duties come as Brad and Angelina have been staying in Richmond, London as Pitt works on another new movie titled "World War Z".
With their brood of children also staying in the UK locale, a source told Us magazine that the little ones are being kept occupied with the help of children's entertainers.
The Us insider dished, "The company is Amanda's Action Kids. [Founder Amanda Frolich] has her own album which she uses at parties and classes in West London."
"The kids laughed and screamed all day," the source added. "They were exhausted by the time the troupe left!"
More Photos Here
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Angelina Jolie in Vivienne Westwood, in Toronto: lovely or boring? | | Added 14 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
|
|
|
|
|
My birthday is tomorrow, so Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie decided to give me the gift of new red carpet photos. It was just what I wanted! Brad is in Toronto to push Moneyball, which I still really want to see. The photos of Brad solo, without sunglasses, are from the press conference and photo call for Moneyball, and then the photos where he?s with Angelina Jolie are from the Toronto premiere. Angelina wore this black Vivienne Westwood that I really, really like on her. I?ve been wanting her to wear Westwood for so long! I don?t know who did the lovely gold purse, but it?s a nice metallic ?pop? for the black dress. Oh, and the purse is ?chained? to Angelina?s wrist - that?s not a separate piece of jewelry. I bet kinky Jolie loved that.
As for Brad? does anyone else think he looks like Tom Brady now? It?s the hair. Brad had grown out his hair to a perfect Tom Brady-esque man-bob. Still? Brad looks good. He had been relatively clean-cut for a while, but I think this scruff might be for World War Z, and hopefully Brad will do something different when that film finishes its endless shoot. Maybe then he?ll get a haircut.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
More Photos Here
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| | | 6.063.887
Photos Online+ 7.962 past week
3.772
Users Online | | |
| | | | | | | | We Salute
Keira Knightley
Photos of Keira Knightley will not count in your daily view limit, if you are a registered member
Tribute ends in
6 days | | |
| | |
|
