Canadian evacuations from Egypt begin as protests continue

As the protests in Egypt continue unabated, the Canadian government has announced it will begin evacuating Canadian citizens from the politically volatile country as early as today. There are currently an estimated 6500 Canadians in Egypt, and up to 800 may be flown out by Monday's end.  

The results of a new British study suggest that women who begin hormone replacement therapy at the onset of menopause are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer. While the link between hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer has been indicated in previous research, this study sought to establish whether the timing of therapy played any role in increasing the risk. Researchers found that women who started taking the estrogen-only hormone HRT before or within five years of menopause had 1.43 times the breast cancer risk of women who started the same hormone replacement five or more years after menopause.      

While dieting may seem like a relatively recent (and unfortunate) phenomenon, a recent AP article examines dieting fads that date back as far as 1863. It turns out the idea behind the Atkins diet actually originates with Englishman William Banting’s nearly 150-year-old "Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public," in which he warns against carbs and sings protein’s praises. In 1903, a special soap promised to shed pounds, while dieters in the 1940s turned to bile beans in an effort to slim. Lesson? There’s never been a quick-fix weight-loss solution, and there probably never will be.  

Fans of the Facebook movie The Social Network got a treat this past weekend when the film’s star, Jesse Eisenberg, came face-to-face with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during the opening of Saturday Night Live. Though Eisenberg played Zuckerberg in the Oscar-nominated flick, the two had never crossed paths before. Zuckerberg joined Eisenberg for his opening monologue, and responded to the actor’s questions about the film by saying he thought the interpretation was “interesting.”   

There’s nothing quite as irksome as a cancelled flight, and this winter’s tumultuous weather has caused an unfortunate spike in the number of cancellations faced by Canadians. Thankfully, the New York Times has published a handy guide on fighting back when your flight is cancelled, complete with tips, tricks and your basic rights as a traveller.