 |
|
Actors Guild
awards for ‘Rings’, Theron India,
Nepal sign pact on bus services |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Suicide
bomber kills 13 in Iraq US
chopper attacked, pilot killed
29 die of heatwave in Australia Bush
denies questioning Kerry’s patriotism India, Pakistan to meet in Dubai Peaceful, rich Brunei
envy of world, Gay marriages
dividing Americans
|
|
Actors Guild awards for ‘Rings’, Theron
Los Angeles, February 23 The award for best film actress solidified Theron’s position as a front-runner for an Oscar, the US film industry’s top honours to be given out on February 29. It also cemented the bid for the best movie Oscar from the hobbits of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” But Depp’s victory added an element of suspense to next week’s Oscars by giving him an award no one expected over favorites Bill Murray and Sean Penn. The actors of “Rings” were named the best cast. The last year’s winner in the same group, “Chicago,” earned the Oscar. The SAG awards often provide strong clues to potential Oscar winners because actors make up the largest branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Oscars. It has some 1,300 members, of the 5,800 voters for the Academy Awards. On stage, Theron thanked “my angel and my date tonight, my mom, who put me on a plane with a one-way ticket to Hollywood when I was 19 years old. Thank you for being so brave and for letting me go to make my dreams come true.” In the low-budget film “Monster,” South African-born Theron plays serial killer and former prostitute Aileen Wuornos, who was executed for murdering men who picked her up. Theron gained 13 kg for the part, and her make-up and posturing masked her true beauty. “I knew we were working on something very special. It felt different than anything I have ever done before,” Theron told reporters backstage.
— Reuters |
|
India, Nepal sign pact on bus services Kathmandu, February 23 The agreement was signed by Secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Transport Narayan Silwal and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shyam Saran at the Foreign Ministry in the presence of the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries. The passenger bus service will be started after the Indian Cabinet approves the agreement and other details will be discussed according to the agreement, Mr Silwal said. The Nepalese government has already approved the decision A maximum of 53 bus services from Nepal and the same number from India can be operated in a day according to the agreement. Services will be launched from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Birgunj and other major cities of the Himalayan kingdom, to link with major destinations, including New Delhi, Kolkata, Darjeeling, Patna, Lucknow, Gaya, Bareily, Varanasi and Silguri. The bus services will run through five specified border crossing checkposts between the two countries, Mr Silwal added.
— UNI |
|
Battle for turban won
in Alabama
Washington, February 23 Responding to a vigorous campaign and a threat to file a class-action lawsuit launched by the communities, the state decided to change the policy on Friday. The new policy would come into effect from today. The new policy lays down that turbans and headscarves are acceptable for religious beliefs and medical reasons. Sikh men and Muslim women whose request for a driving licence had been turned down in recent weeks because of their refusal to take off the headscarves and turbans while being photographed, hailed the decision as a “victory for religious freedom for everyone in this country.” The new policy requires that the face be visible from top of the forehead to the bottom of the chin and from the hairline on one side to the hairline on the other side. “The change would maintain the state’s goal of being able to identify a person from the driver’s licence photo while being respectful of people’s religious beliefs and traditions,” Troy King, the Governor’s Legal Advisor was quoted by a local daily as saying.
— PTI |
|
|
Suicide bomber kills 13 in Iraq Kirkuk (Iraq), February 23 The attack occurred shortly before US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld flew into Baghdad on an unannounced visit to assess security in the troubled country. All killed were policemen. ‘’He took us by surprise. We didn’t even manage to fire a single bullet at the bomber,’’ said policeman Saman Ali. The USA is banking on Iraqi police and security forces taking over control of the country once US soldiers leave, but Iraqis can barely protect themselves from guerrillas who have attacked police stations to discourage them from cooperating with US troops. More than 300 Iraqi policemen have been killed since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in April.
— Reuters |
|
US chopper attacked, pilot killed Thaloqan (Afghanistan), February 23 Four foreigners and an Afghan interpreter had come in the helicopter to inspect the construction of a health clinic in the village of Thaloqan, about 60 km southwest of the provincial capital, Kandahar. The group was about to leave when a man armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle attacked the helicopter and then fled, said Khalid Pashtoon, spokesman for governor of Kandahar province. The Australian pilot was killed and an American woman who was helping set up health clinics in the region was seriously wounded, a US Embassy spokesman said on condition of anonymity. In Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the pilot came from South Australia state.
— AP |
|
29 die of heatwave in Australia Brisbane, February 23 Thousands of people called for help from ambulance crews and paramedics in and around Brisbane when the temperature soared to 41.7°C yesterday _ its hottest ever February day. The police reported 29 sudden deaths from Friday afternoon to last night. The weekend earlier, there were seven such deaths in the city of 900,000 persons.
— AP |
|
Bush
denies questioning Kerry’s patriotism Washington, February 23 Responding yesterday to a letter in which Mr Kerry had accused President Bush of using surrogates to attack his military service in Vietnam and his subsequent opposition to the war, Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign chairman Marc Racicot said: “I ask you to elevate the remarkably negative tone of your campaign and your party over the past year.’’ Mr Kerry had taken umbrage at statements that Senator Saxby Chambliss made earlier, predicting trouble for the Massachusetts Democrat in Georgia’s primary because of a ``32-year history of voting to cut defence programmes and cut defence systems.’’ In the letter to Mr Bush on Saturday, Mr Kerry wrote: ``As you well know, Vietnam was a very difficult and painful period in our nation’s history, and the struggle for our veterans continues. So, it has been hard to believe that you would choose to reopen these wounds for your personal political gain. But, that is what you have chosen to do.’’
— AP |
|
India, Pakistan to meet in Dubai
Dubai, February 23 About a dozen top personalities from Lollywood (Pakistani equivalent of Bollywood) have been invited to join their Indian counterparts at the annual celebration of the Indian film industry which is seen as yet another step towards improving Indo-Pak relations. “There are several people in the Pakistani film industry who have made serious efforts to make good films that have received accolades from filmgoers even outside the country. This is the right time to recognise their efforts,” The Gulf Today reported quoting Vice-President of the Zee Telefilms International Ltd Manish Vasisht. He said the Pakistan film industry would be represented by veteran Pakistani theatre personality Omar Sharif on stage. “Sharif will share the stage with Indian television star Shekhar Suman at the ceremony, which is expected to be the most glittering and glamorous event held in Dubai till date.” The event to be hosted by noted film director Karan Johar and actress Juhi Chawla would be backed by popular compere Javed Jaffrey, glamour girls Shilpa Shetty and Katrina Kaif along with John Abraham. Shah Rukh Khan, Preity
Zinta, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan and Lara Dutta would present programmes at the award ceremony which is one of the top four film award events hosted in India every year.
— UNI |
|
|
Peaceful, rich Brunei
envy of world, says Sultan Bandar Seri Begawan, February 23 Bolkiah, the absolute ruler of Brunei since well before its full sovereignty from Britain in 1984, said the Southeast Asian nation had been blessed by Allah for its peaceful existence during times of global conflict. “All citizens of the world seek peace, of which we possess now,” Bolkiah, dressed in a military uniform, told the population last evening .
— AFP |
|
|
Gay marriages
dividing Americans Washington, February 23 Nearly 3,300 same-sex marriages have been administered at San Francisco City Hall since February 12, but gay couples will now have to make appointments to marry, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom told CNN’s Late Edition yesterday. City officials need a break as throngs of gays and lesbians wanting to marry have mobbed city hall, said Newsom, who insisted he would continue his policy despite criticism from national politicians and even fellow Democrats. The city temporarily stopped issuing licences on Friday. Two judges last week refused to halt Newsom’s policy, but the courts will decide whether the marriages are legal. California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, who on Friday asked the state’s Attorney General to intervene, said allowing same-sex marriages would open a Pandora’s box. “Maybe the next thing is another city that hands out licences for assault weapons, and someone else hand out licences for selling drugs,” the Republican Governor said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” yesterday.
— AFP |
|
Pig for Guinness record Beijing, February 23 The pig in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning, reportedly the heaviest-ever in China, was 2.5 metres long, had a waistline of 2.23 metres and a tusk of 14.4 cm length when it died on February 5, its keeper, Xu Changjin, a veteran farmer of Wafangdian city, said today.
— PTI |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Los
Angeles, February 23
