Monday 27 February 2012

Iraq film festival aims to promote human rights

Iraqis attend a film screening at the Human Rights Film Festival in Baghdad on February 25A human rights film festival held in Baghdad is aiming to educate and mobilise citizens at a time when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government has been accused of sliding toward authoritarianism.


Review: Lovett coasts but still charms on new CD

In this CD cover image released by Curb/Universal, the latest release by Lyle Lovett, Lyle Lovett, "Release Me" (Curb/Universal)


Censors ban screening of 'taboo' Egypt love story

An Egyptian protester holds up the Egyptian flag marked with the Christian Coptic cross and the Muslim Crescent in CairoEgyptian film-makers and critics denounced the authorities on Monday for blocking the screening of a "taboo" film about a love story between a Christian woman and a Muslim man.


Review: 'Black Radio' issues musical challenge

In this CD cover image released by Blue Note Records, the latest release by Robert Glasper Experiment, Robert Glasper Experiment, "Black Radio" (Blue Note)


Preliminary ratings up for Oscars telecast

Billy Crystal performs during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Ratings for the Academy Awards are up 4 percent over last year in a preliminary Nielsen measurement.


Crystal's Sammy Davis impression draws criticism

Billy Crystal performs during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)Some are questioning Billy Crystal's impression of Sammy Davis Jr. in his opening number as Oscar host.


Kid Rock gets wild and free for Romney event

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, shakes hands with Kid Rock at a campaign event at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, Mich., Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) For his Michigan finale, Mitt Romney wanted Kid Rock.


Streep, Dujardin earn lead-acting Oscars

Meryl Streep arrives before the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) Meryl Streep has won her third Academy Award, earning the best-actress prize as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady."


Strong personal tyranny in 'Rutherford & Son'

In this publicity photo released by Shirley Herz Associates, Lucas Hall, left, and Rod Brogan perform in a scene from Eugene O'Neill's Stones are flying around the "glass house" as family members battle for freedom from a tight-fisted tyrant, in "Rutherford & Son," another rediscovered gem currently performing off-Broadway at The Mint Theater.


Transformative artist Ken Price dies in NM at 77

In this undated photo provided by The Harwood Museum of Art, artist Ken Price stands in front of his installation called Ken Price, an internationally known artist whose glazed and painted clay blurred the lines between ceramics and sculpture, is being remembered for his humor, his love of natural shapes and for the long hours he spent in the studio perfecting what became a style all his own.


Michael Douglas: Corporate greed isn't good

Michael Douglas presents an award during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Movie star Michael Douglas might be the FBI's newest and most famous turncoat.


Your Food Cooked in a Volcano at El Diablo Restaurant

The name of the restaurant is El Diablo, or  the devil, which kind of fits, considering what takes place  here.  Feast your eyes on this ultimate barbecue experience complete with panoramic and dramatic views.  Enjoyed against  the volcanic backdrop of Lanzarote’s Timanfaya National Park in the...

Jolie's leg spawns own instant Twitter account

Angelina Jolie presents an award during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Angelina Jolie's leg has spawned its own Twitter account, and it's an instant hit.


The top 10 tweets during the Academy Awards

Members of Cirque du Soleils The Oscars can be absurdly glamorous, abundantly self-aggrandizing and achingly stodgy. Thankfully, there's Twitter.


Everything old was new again at the Oscars

Billy Crystal performs during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)Justin Bieber wasn't mincing words. "I'm here to bring you the 18 to 24-year-old demographic," the teen pop star told Billy Crystal in the opening Oscar montage. "So, how long do you want me to stay here for?"


Neb. founder Boys Town orphanage up for sainthood

This photo from 1942 which was provided by Boys Town, shows Boys Town founder Father Edward Flanagan, center, being surrounded by his charges. Omaha Archbishop George Lucas has opened, Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, the cause for the beatification and canonization of Boys Town founder Father Edward Flanagan.(AP Photo/Boys Town) A Roman Catholic priest whose efforts to help troubled Omaha youth were made famous by Spencer Tracy's Academy Award-winning portrayal of him in the 1938 movie "Boys Town" has been nominated for sainthood.


For blacks, mix of 'Help' emotions on Oscar night

Viola Davis, right, and Julius Tennon at the Governors Ball following the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Despite torrents of debate among African-Americans over the merits of the segregation-era movie "The Help," most still hoped that Viola Davis, who plays a maid, would become just the second black winner of the best actress Oscar.


A melancholy early O'Neill in 'Beyond the Horizon'

In this publicity photo released by Shirley Herz Associates, Lucas Hall, left, and Rod Brogan perform in a scene from Eugene O'Neill's Noted American playwright Eugene O'Neill had a melancholy view of life's possibilities, which didn't prevent him from winning several Pulitzer Prizes for his dramas, including one for his first full-length play, the 1920 tragedy, "Beyond the Horizon."


Crystal helps improve Oscar viewership

Billy Crystal performs during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) The return of Billy Crystal helped boost viewership for the Academy Awards but not enough to prevent a cultural oddity: The Oscars weren't even the most-watched awards show on television this month.


Octavia Spencer wins best supporting actress Oscar

Octavia Spencer arrives before the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles) Octavia Spencer inspired her formidable character in "The Help," but the actress turned into a softy Sunday as she accepted an Oscar for the role.


Ben & Jerry’s Apologizes for Jeremy Lin Inspired Ice Cream Flavor

Ben & Jerry’s tweeted an apology to anyone who was offended by its new limited-edition  Taste the Lin-Sanity  frozen yogurt flavor. The company tweeted, “On behalf of Ben & Jerry’s Boston Scoop Shops, we offer a heartfelt apology if anyone was offended by our handmade...

Iran's 'Separation:' Oscar glow and slap at Israel

Asghar Farhadi, of Iran, accepts the Oscar for best foreign language film for “A Separation” during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Iran hailed the country's first Oscar-winning film as a triumph over arch-foe Israel on Monday after an Academy Award race with its own subplots: Iranian officials giving a grudging nod to cinema and Israeli audiences flocking to see a made-in-Tehran drama.


50 Cent reflects on trip to Africa

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr, left, and performer 50 Cent sit courtside during the NBA All-Star Shooting Stars basketball competition in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) When 50 Cent announced that part of the proceeds from his new energy drink would be used to help fight hunger in Africa, some questioned whether his motives were genuine.


Review: Book examines how habits take root

In this book cover image released by Random House, "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" (Random House), by Charles Duhigg: Some of us begin the day with a workout in the gym or a 5-mile run, others with coffee and a doughnut, perhaps topped off with a cigarette. It's all a matter of habit.


Actress Sean Young arrested at post-Oscars party

File-In this file photo actress Sean Young posing at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 2011 Governors Awards, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles police say actress Young, 52, was placed under citizen's arrest after a fight at the official post-Oscars party Sunday evening Feb. 26,2012. The star in Actress Sean Young was arrested after a scuffle with a security guard at the official post-Oscars party, police said Monday.


Armani puts Bermuda at heart of winter collection

A model wears a creation part of the Giorgio Armani Women's Fall-Winter 2012-13 fashion collection, during the fashion week in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) All it takes to be Armani stylish next winter is a pair of Bermudas.


Berenstain Bears co-creator Jan Berenstain dies

FILE - Jan. 25, 2011 file photo, Janice Berenstain displays a copy of the first book, left, she and husband, Stanley Berenstain, created and the second book, which was the first to actually call the characters Berenstain Bears, in Solebury, Pa. Jan Berenstain, who with her husband Stan created the Berenstain Bears books that have charmed preschoolers and their parents for 50 years, has died. Her son Mike Berenstain said she died Feb. 24, 2012. She was 88. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)Jan Berenstain, who with her husband, Stan, wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears books that have charmed preschoolers and their parents for 50 years, has died. She was 88.


Chinese architect Wang Shu wins Pritzker Prize

In this 2010 image released courtesy of The Hyatt Foundation, the Ningbo Tengtou Pavilion designed by Chinese architect Wang Shu, is shown in Shanghai, China. Shu, whose buildings have been praised for their commanding presence and careful attention to the environment, has won the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the prize's jury announced Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Amateur Architecture Studio via The Hyatt Foundation, Fu Xing) Chinese architect Wang Shu, whose buildings have been praised for their commanding presence and careful attention to the environment, has won the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the prize's jury announced Monday.


Charlotte Church looking past phone hacking case

Singer Charlotte Church speaks to the media outside the High Court in London after hearing the reading of a statement setting out the terms of the settlement for phone hacking damages claim against News International, Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. Church, who testified before a media inquiry of being hounded by Rupert Murdoch's journalists when she was a teen singing sensation, received 600,000 pounds ($951,000) Monday in a phone hacking settlement from News International and said she had been sickened by what she had learnt about intrusion into her private life. (AP Photo/Sang Tan) Charlotte Church's nearly $1 million settlement Monday with Rupert Murdoch's company provides vindication for a former child singing sensation caught in a web of tabloid intrigue as she grew into her teens.


Harry Potter e-books coming to schools, libraries

In this Thursday, July 7, 2011 photo, British author JK Rowling arrives in Trafalgar Square, in central London, for the World Premiere of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the last film in the series. Adult fans of J.K. Rowling can rejoice: She has a new novel coming, for grownups. The kids will have to wait and see. The author of the mega-selling Harry Potter e-books are coming to schools and libraries, at a date to be determined.


UK police: Culture of illegal payments at The Sun

Singer Charlotte Church, right, leaves the High Court in London after hearing the reading of a statement setting out the terms of the settlement for phone hacking damages claim against News International, Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. Church, who testified before a media inquiry of being hounded by Rupert Murdoch's journalists when she was a teen singing sensation, received 600,000 pounds ($951,000) Monday in a phone hacking settlement from News International and said she had been sickened by what she had learnt about intrusion into her private life. (AP Photo/Sang Tan) A senior British police official said Monday that Britain's biggest selling tabloid, The Sun, had a culture of making illegal payments to public officials in return for stories.


'Hugo' claims first 2 Oscars with technical wins

Billy Crystal performs during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Martin Scorsese's Paris adventure "Hugo" won the first two prizes of the night at Sunday's Academy Awards, claiming the Oscars for cinematography and art direction.


Spain rejects Peruvian claim to shipwreck treasure

In this undated photo made available by the Spain's Culture Ministry, a member of the Ministry technical crew displays some of the 594,000 coins and other artifacts found in the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish galleon sunk by British warships in the Atlantic while sailing back from South America in 1804, in a warehouse in Tampa, Fla. A 17-ton trove of silver coins recovered from the Spanish galleon was set to be flown Friday Feb. 24, 2012 from the United States to Spain, concluding a nearly five-year legal struggle with Odyssey Marine Exploration, the Florida deep-sea explorers who found and recovered it. (AP Photo/Spain's Culture Ministry, HO) Spain on Monday rejected Peru's claim to a huge multimillion-dollar undersea treasure recovered from the wreckage of a ship that had left from Lima's port more than 200 years ago.


Nick Jonas on 'How to Succeed' and 'Smash'

In this Feb. 22, 2012 photo, Nick Jonas poses for a portrait in his dressing room before a performance of Broadway's Attention, young people milling about outside the Al Hirschfeld Theatre: Nick Jonas will not be popping out to shake your hand after matinees of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."


Pakistan lauds Oscar-winning filmmaker

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, left, and Daniel Junge pose with their awards for best documentary short for Pakistan's government honored on Monday the country's first filmmaker to win an Oscar: the director of a documentary on the plight of female victims of acid attacks in this conservative society.


Kid Rock, Detroit symphony team up for benefit

FILE - In this June 2, 2011 file photo, recording artist Kid Rock smiles during a news conference on Belle Isle in his hometown of Detroit. Kid Rock is teaming up with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for a one-night benefit concert for the nationally recognized orchestra, organizers announced Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. The May 12 show at Detroit's Fox Theatre aims to raise $1 million, the DSO said. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) Kid Rock is teaming up with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for a one-night benefit concert for the nationally recognized orchestra, organizers announced Monday.


Stars swamp loud, colorful Oscar parties

Jean Dujardin winner of best actor for this work in While a nearly silent, black-and-white throwback film to old Hollywood won best picture at Sunday's Academy Awards, after-parties around town celebrated present day Hollywood with explosions of color, conversation, pounding music and pure glee.


Baron Cohen spills 'ashes' on Seacrest at Oscars

Sacha Baron Cohen, right, and guest arrive before the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)Outfitted extravagantly in character, Sacha Baron Cohen ran amuck on the Oscars' red carpet Sunday night and all over E! host Ryan Seacrest's tuxedo.


Swedish royals release first pictures of princess

Image released by the Swedish Royal Palace Monday Feb 27 2012 of Princess Estelle of Sweden, on Monday, taken at her home in Haga Palace outside Stockholm. Princess Estelle is wearing a cardigan knitted by the Crown Princess Victoria's grandmother Alice. She was born the previous Thursday and is now second in line to the throne of the Scandinavian country. (AP Photo/Royal Household) The Swedish Royal Court has released the first close-up pictures of the Nordic country's newborn princess and future monarch.


Billy Crystal returns to host a winning Oscarcast

Billy Crystal performs during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)Perhaps the biggest nail-biter of Oscar night stirred no suspense at all: "The Artist," however unlikely as an art-house upstart, still seemed destined to win as Best Picture.


What you didn't see on TV during the Oscars

Penélope Cruz arrives before the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles) Even the hundreds of photographers, TV cameras and webcams around the Hollywood & Highland Center can't capture every starry moment of Sunday's 84th annual Academy Awards.


Israelis flock to see film produced by arch-foe

In this Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 photo Israelis wait for the screening of the Iranian movie Israeli newspapers warn daily of the Iranian nuclear threat, but for the past week and a half, Israelis filmgoers have packed movie theaters to watch a drama set in Tehran.


Weinsteins rule Oscars with 'Artist,' 'Iron Lady'

Eve Chilton Weinstein, left and Harvey Weinstein arrive before the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) Bob and Harvey Weinstein resumed their perch as Hollywood's favorite taste-makers Sunday, with "The Artist" and "The Iron Lady" sweeping up key Academy Awards and much of this year's Oscar nominations bump.


Partial list of 84th Academy Award winners

Tom Fleischman and John Midgley accept the Oscar for best sound mixing for “Hugo” during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)Partial list of the 84th Annual Academy Award winners announced Sunday:


Few inspired moments during predictable Oscars

Octavia Spencer with the Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for Nostalgia ruled at the Oscars, with the classic film homages "The Artist" and "Hugo" dominating with five awards each, Meryl Streep winning her first best-actress prize in nearly three decades and longtime favorite Billy Crystal returning as host.


Crystal raises curtain on Oscars in lively montage

Billy Crystal performs during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Billy Crystal has gotten the Academy Awards off to a lively start with a star-laden montage in which he hangs out with Justin Bieber and gets a nice wet kiss from George Clooney.


Iran state TV says Oscar win victory over Israel

Asghar Farhadi, of Iran, accepts the Oscar for best foreign language film for “A Separation” during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Iran's state TV described the country's foreign film Oscar win on Monday as a victory over Israel, in a gesture of official approval toward an Iranian movie industry criticized by hardliners.


New fashion stars include Mara, Stone and Chastain

Penelope Cruz arrives before the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)There were many new fashion faces on the red carpet at the 84th annual Academy Awards on Sunday night, but they brought with them a lot of old Hollywood glamour.