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Tuesday,
March 26, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Ceasefire eludes Israeli, Palestinian negotiators Afro-Americans in limelight at Oscars show
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BSF-Bangladesh Rifles reach agreement
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Ceasefire eludes Israeli, Palestinian negotiators Tel Aviv, March 25 Before the meeting was wrapped up, US special envoy Anthony Zinni, mediating the talks, created a list of compromises for both sides to consider when they meet again today, Israeli radio reported. Three Palestinian militants were killed on Sunday night by Israeli fire near the Jewish settlement of Nitser Hazani in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian Authority security officials said. Near Hebron, an Israeli was killed last night when his car was ambushed south of West Bank city. Earlier yesterday, a Palestinian Gaza City resident was shot near Karni commercial passage, east of Gaza City. The army said the man was trying to attack an Israeli army post guarding the passage. Near the village of Salfit, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian Authority public security officer as Israeli troops and armoured vehicles forced their way into the village after Palestinian militants shot a Jewish woman in the area near Ramallah in the West Bank. Palestinian security sources were expecting the Israeli side to announce they would allow Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to leave Ramallah to attend the annual Arab summit to be held in Beirut on Wednesday. Earlier yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the Palestinian leader could not go unless he acted against Palestinian militants. Although Sharon said Arafat could leave Ramallah, he also said any trip Arafat wanted to make abroad would need Israeli approval, which would be given depending on the level of violence. Israeli soldiers also killed four gunmen who had infiltrated into the north of the country overnight, possibly from Jordan. The four were killed after an intensive and extensive search, sparked off when the electronic fence separating Israel, Jordan and Syria registered a touch and tracks were found in the area. The Israeli Ha’aretz daily reported that the Jordanian army had told the Israeli army it killed two people overnight who were apparently trying to cross into Israel. BEIRUT: Arab Foreign Ministers met on Monday ahead of an Arab League summit that could embrace a plan for peace with Israel, even if the Jewish state prevents Palestinian President Yasser Arafat from attending. The ministers gathered in a luxury hotel here to discuss a Saudi plan offering Israel peace and normal relations if it returns all Arab land occupied in the 1967 war and agrees to a “just solution” for Palestinian refugees. The plan has international backing as a means to help end 18 months of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed, but Palestinian officials say Arafat may skip the summit rather than accept Israeli demands that he implement a ceasefire before going. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was to convene senior ministers later to discuss whether to let Arafat travel to the Lebanese capital on Wednesday. But Arafat’s chances of seeing Beirut for the first time since Israeli invasion troops drove him out in 1982 looked slim, as violence raged on in the occupied territories, where he is confined. WASHINGTON:
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has forged an alliance that involves Iranian shipments of heavy weapons and money to Palestinian groups involved in action against Israel, The New York Times reported in its Sunday editions, citing unidentified US and Israeli intelligence officials. “The partnership, officials said, was arranged in a clandestine meeting in Moscow past May between two top aides to Mr Arafat and Iranian government officials. The meeting took place while Mr Arafat was visiting President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, according to senior Israeli security officials,” the paper reported. It said the Israeli officials refused to provide further details. Arafat’s reported alliance with Iran caused concern in Tel Aviv because it gave the Palestinians a powerful and well-armed patron in the increasingly violent conflict with Israel,” the newspaper said, quoting Israeli officials. DPA, Reuters |
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Afro-Americans in limelight at Oscars show Los Angeles, March 25 Halle Berry became the first black actress to earn an Oscar in a lead role, for her portrayal of a death-row widow involved with her husband’s executioner in “Monster’s Ball.” while Denzel Washington, playing a corrupt policeman in “Training Day,” became the second black to win best actor award. They joined Sidney
Poitier, who received the bestactor Oscar for 1963’s “Lilies of the Field” and received a career-achievement award at the star-studded event in Hollywood’s newly constructed Kodak theatre past evening. The coveted golden-knight trophy eluded Bollywood for the third time when the champions of Champaner lost to the jury’s surprise choice of an anti-war film “No Man’s Land’ from Bosnia Herzegovina. “A Beautiful Mind”, which won for Jennifer Connelly the the best supporting actress award, was also adjudged the best motion picture. It also won the best director award for Ron Howard, tied with ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ with a total of four Oscars each. ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,’ the adaptation of part 1 of
J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic, ‘Fellowship of the Ring,’ won best score for Howard Shore, besides cinematography, visual effects and make-up Oscars. Jim Broadbent took the
supporting actor Oscar for his role as the befuddled but doting husband of Alzheimer’s-afflicted writer Iris Murdoch in ‘Iris.’ ‘Shrek,’ the hip-twist on cartoon fairy tales, won the first-ever Oscar for animated feature film. The surprise foreign film winner was Bosnia’s ‘No Man’s Land,’ writer-director Danis Tanovic’s satiric story of a Bosnian soldier and a Serbian armyman stuck together in a trench. Dressed in
sherwanis, the ‘Lagaan’ team, represented by Aamir and director Ashutosh
Gowarikar, stoically applauded Tanovic for an award that had never come Bollywood’s way despite its high international popularity. A subdued night It was a subdued night for Oscar fashion, but leave it to flamboyant actress Sally Kellerman to cause a stir. She nearly got turned away from the famed red carpet last night because her Oscar gown was constructed of a silk-and-metal fabric that set off metal detectors at the entrance and gave security guards jitters. "They asked me if I would remove my gown and I said I would,’’ she joked in a reference to her voluminous champagne J. Gerard gown which had a skirt reminiscent of a balloon window shade which she repeatedly lifted with the help of an attached cord. Most stars attending the 74th Academy Awards, however, were more subdued in both dress and chatter. The red carpet, a shadow of past year’s pre-September 11 bash, was virtually a sea of black, white and champagne, with just a smattering of other muted colours and ethnic looks thrown in. Zellweger wore a simple flowing strapless ballgown by Carolina Herrera. Thurman’s Gaultier gown was a playful, modern version of an off-shoulder tuxedo. Watson donned a sheer, flirty wrap gown by Ungaro with a see-through lace bodice covered with tiny pleats. Bullock wore a black strapless Valentino with beaded applique and a Spanish-inspired skirt. Sissy Spacek wore a simple long black skirt with a 19th century-inspired white high-collar button jacket by Maggie Norris. Her two daughters, Madison and Schyler, wore simple dark Calvin Klein sheaths. Halle Berry stole the show with a claret-coloured A line Elie Saab ballgown and sheer bodice embellished with carefully placed beaded applique flowers and leaves. Marisa Tomei wore a navy blue ’20s inspired gown by Jurgen Simonsen with a ballet skirt, wrapped bodice, and a long diamond strand winding around her neck. Kate Winslet wore a simple tomato red sheath with a single floral strap. Laura Elena Herring, who appeared in “Mulholland Drive,” was one of the few actresses who looked showy. Herring’s outfit consisted of a black Armani gown with bright red beaded flowers, a huge, $ 26-million Molina diamond pendant around her neck and $ 5-million diamond studded Stuart Weitzman sandals. Best actress nominee Helen Mirren wore a white Armani gown with a satin bodice and a flowing white skirt bedecked with sparkles. Jennifer Connelly wore a simple flowing beige strapless gown by Balenciaga, Nicole Kidman floated along in a pink strapless Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel gown with spaghetti straps and vertical pleating. Kirsten Dunst also wore pink, a 1920s inspired sheath gown by John Galliano from Dior. Men wore more highly embellished clothing than in recent memory, with a variety of jacket lengths, ties and textured fabrics. Best supporting actor nominee Ian McKellen wore a simple dark tuxedo made by a friend in England and around his neck a jade good luck charm from New Zealand. Peter Owen, who won an Oscar for best make-up for “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,’’ wore a black fringe-covered Moschino tuxedo jacket.
PTI, Reuters |
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List of winners Picture: “A Beautiful Mind.” Director:
Ron Howard, “A Beautiful Mind.” Actor: Denzel Washington, “Training Day.” Actress: Halle Berry, “Monster’s Ball.” Supporting Actor:
Jim Broadbent, “Iris.” Supporting Actress: Jennifer Connelly, “A Beautiful Mind.” Adapted Screenplay: Akiva
Goldsman, “A Beautiful Mind.” Animated Feature: “Shrek.” Animated Short: “For the Birds.” Art Direction: “Moulin Rouge.” Cinematography: “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” Costume: “Moulin Rouge.” Documentary Feature: “Murder on a Sunday Morning.” Documentary Short Subject: “Thoth.” Film Editing: “Black Hawk Down.” Foreign Language Film: “No Man’s Land,” Bosnia and Herzegovina. Live Action Short: “The Accountant.” Make-up:
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” Original Score: “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” Original Screenplay:
Julian Fellowes, “Gosford Park.” Original Song: “If I didn’t have you,” by Randy Newman, from “Monsters, Inc.” Sound: “Black Hawk Down.” Sound Editing:
“Pearl Harbor.” Visual Effects: “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” Oscar winners announced previously: Gordon E. Sawyer Award: Edmund M. di Giulio. Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:
Arthur Hiller. Honorary Awards: Sidney Poitier and Robert Redford.
AP |
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Tamil groups disarm in Lanka Colombo, March 25 The surrender of the weapons was set out in the Norwegian-brokered truce signed last month and took place in northern Jaffna peninsula, Vavuniya in the central-north part of the island and in several locations on the eastern coast. “Several
Tamil political groups who were holding weapons for their security
commenced surrendering of their arms and ammunition,” the military
statement said. The groups included the Eelam People’s Democratic
Party (EPDP), a pro-government Tamil militia which publicly opposes
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The EPDP has fought
alongside government troops against the LTTE. Sri Lanka is awash with illegal guns and feuds between the different groups constantly erupt into violence. Many of the weapons were issued to the groups by the military for counter-insurgency operations in the 1990s, but no one knows the exact number of weapons. Meanwhile, the chief negotiator for the LTTE flew into rebel-held territory today to help the guerrillas prepare for peace talks with the government, diplomats and military officials said. The secretive trip will allow Anton Balasingham, also the spokesman for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), to meet rebel leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran ahead of negotiations with the government expected within several months. These will be the first serious talks between the sides in seven years. Balasingham flew direct to Wanni from the Maldivian capital of Male because he could not fly through Colombo as the government had outlawed the rebel group as a terrorist organisation. “He
is there to talk to Prabhakaran, but we do not know how long he will
stay,’’ said a Western diplomat. Balasingham’s chartered
plane landed on a lake about 280 km from Colombo near Kilinochchi, one
of many hideouts used by the reclusive Prabhakaran. Balasingham’s
visit was greeted with protests. The hardline People’s Liberation
Front said Balasingham should have been kept out of the country
because the LTTE was an outlawed group. Balasingham’s visit
coincided with one to Colombo by Norwegian peace negotiator Erick
Solheim, part of the team that worked to bring the sides to the
negotiating table. Reuters |
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BSF-Bangladesh Rifles
reach agreement Dhaka, March 25 BSF Director-General Gurbachan Jagat and BDR Director-General Major General Rezakul Haider led their respective delegations at the meeting that discussed cross-border crimes, including killing of civilians, intrusion, smuggling, human trafficking and extradition of the citizens of the two countries. A press note issued by the BDR headquarters said the meeting focussed on killing and wounding unarmed and innocent citizens on both sides. The meeting also discussed trafficking of women and children, smuggling of arms and drugs, intrusion into each other’s territory, extradition of accused citizens of the two countries, violation or misinterpretation of the joint India-Bangladesh guideline-1975 and other bilateral matters of mutual concern.
UNI |
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Los Angeles, March 25