Dark movies expected to carve up Oscars 80th birthday

HOLLYWOOD, Feb 23: A slew of dark and violent films are poised to carve up the top honors at the 80th Academy Awards here tomorrow, but wet weather could rain on the Oscars' annual red carpet parade.

After months of uncertainty during the bitter Hollywood writers strike, the movie industry's biggest party of the year will get underway as planned at 5 pm tomorrow at Hollywood Kodak Theatre.

But the traditional catwalk of the stars could be a soggy, shivery occasion for members of the A-list, with a rain forecast to soak California over the next 48 hours.

All eyes are on a best picture race that features a crop of films notable for their grim, bleak themes.

The heavy favorite with eight nominations is "No Country for Old Men," Joel and Ethan Coen's film about the murderous forces that are unleashed after a drug deal on the US-Mexico border goes badly wrong.

"There Will Be Blood," an edgy movie about a tyrannical oil prospector, also has eight nods and is joined in the best picture category by legal thriller "Michael Clayton," historical drama "Atonement" and comedy "Juno."

But after scoring a sweep of the movie industry's professional awards -- seen as key Oscar indicators -- the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" looks unstoppable as the best picture winner.

Bookmakers have made the film a 1/3 favorite while the Coens are backed at 1/4 to scoop the best director prize.

Pundits say the expected success of "No Country for Old Men" indicates the willingness of the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science's 5,829 voters to reward quality film-making regardless of the level of violence. (AGENCIES)

Clinton says stillin race for partynomination

WASHINGTON, Feb 23: Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has brushed aside suggestions that she is doubtful of winning the White House bid following the 11 straight losses to the front-runner Barack Obama, saying she is looking forward to the crucial contests of Ohio and Texas.

At the end of a debate with Obama on Thursday, New York Senator Clinton had said "Whatever happens, we'll both be fine." This was seen by many as the former first Lady having doubts about her own campaign and in its ability to bag the big ticket states of Ohio and Texas scheduled for their political showdown on March 4.

However, she downplayed her remarks and made it known that she is indeed serious about Ohio and Texas. "I intend to win, obviously. I'm working very hard. And Ohio and Texas are critical states," she said in a media interview.

The Hillary campaign knows well that she must get Ohio and Texas to stay meaningful in the Democratic race and even former President Bill Clinton had said recently that if his wife does not bag these two states, she is toast.

Senator Clinton did not respond to the remarks of her husband maintaining that she is not in the prediction business but polls have shown that while she maintains a small lead in Ohio, Senator Obama has either caught up in Texas or is leading in the Lone Star state.

Political analysts have also pointed to the rather cumbersome allocation of delegates in Texas where the Democratic Party has both the primary and caucus and where it allows independents and Republicans to vote. This is to the disadvantage of Senator Clinton.

The argument is being made that Senator Obama runs very strong among the Independent voters and Republicans may enter the fray in the Democratic primaries just to vote against Senator Clinton. (PTI)

China central bank warns of increasing risk of inflation

BEIJING, Feb 23: China's central bank has warned that the price levels would remain high throughout the first half of this year as the country was facing an "increasing" risk of inflation.

Supply shortfalls and rising international prices would keep the domestic price levels at "a high level for a while", the People's Bank of China said in its monetary policy report for the fourth quarter of last year.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to an 11-year high at 7.1 per cent in January, despite accelerated efforts by the government to rein in the price rise, fuelled by food price increase and worst-ever snowstorms in five decades in half of China.

"There is an increasing inflation risk," the bank said, according to the state-run China Daily.

"We will further bring out the role of the exchange rate in adjusting the balance of international payments and promoting balanced economic growth," the report said.

Quoting analysts, official Xinhua news agency said though raw agriculture prices rose substantially last month, it takes one or two months for the impact to spread to manufactured and processed food items, thereby adding pressure to inflation in following months.

The rise in the prices of food might in turn spill over to other sectors, pushing up prices of other products and labour costs, they said.

With snowstorms in mid-January, much of the inflationary impact of the natural disaster would be reflected in February, it quoted Ma Jun, Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank, Greater China, as saying. (PTI)

Seven guards killed in Afghan blast: Governor

ASADABAD, AFGHANISTAN, Feb 23: Seven Afghan security guards were killed today when their vehicle was blown up by a landmine in eastern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said.

The guards had been protecting a road construction company in Kunar province, a troubled region on the Pakistani border, governor Fazullah Wahidi told AFP.

He could not say who might have been behind the attack but Taliban militants who are waging a bloody insurgency against the Kabul Government have been blamed for a string of similar incidents.

Taliban rebels are trying to topple President Hamid Karzai's Government and force out tens of thousands of international soldiers based in the country. (AGENCIES)

LTTE got new method of child recruitment, Lanka tells UN

COLOMBO, Feb 23: LTTE is continuing to "forcibly train" children with use of arms in its stronghold in northern Sri Lanka and then returning them to their normal environment, the government has alleged.

"This (LTTE) terrorist group continues recruitment and use of children as combatants and its commitment (to stop such recruitment) was never implemented," the Sri Lankan Permanent Representative to the UN, Prasad Kariyawasam, told the working group of the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict.

Kariyawasam said the Tamil Tigers achieve their objective "by forcibly submitting the children to weapons training and thereafter returning them to their normal environment, so that they could be used for combat purposes as and when the need arises".

Evidence has now transpired that the LTTE does not permit children to pursue and successfully complete secondary education until and unless they undergo this weapons training, Kariyawasam said at the UN headquarters yesterday.

Local and international agencies compiling statistics on child recruitment do not seem to have taken cognisance of this new strategy adopted by the LTTE, the top Sri Lankan Diplomat added.

Kariyawasam also said the situation with regard to child abductions in Eastern Province has improved in a "tangible manner" after eviction of the rebels from the Eastern Province last year.

"There were no complaints recorded by law enforcement authorities in 2008 relating to abduction or recruitment of children by any armed group in the Eastern Province," he told the UN body. (PTI)

US judge allows Microsoft Vista marketing class action suit

SEATTLE, Feb 23: A federal Judge said consumers may go ahead with a class action lawsuit against Microsoft Corp over the way it advertised computers loaded with Windows XP as capable of running the Vista operating system.

The lawsuit said Microsoft's labeling of some PCs as "Windows Vista Capable" was misleading because many of those computers were not powerful enough to run all of Vista's features, including the much-touted "Aero" user interface.

U S District Judge Marsha Pechman yesterday certified the class action suit but whittled down its scope to focus primarily on whether Microsoft's "Vista Capable" labels created artificial demand for computers during the 2006 holiday shopping season, and inflated prices for computers that couldn't be upgraded to the full-featured version of Vista, which was released at the end of January 2007.

Neither of the two people who filed the original lawsuit participated in a program Microsoft devised to help people who bought new computers before Vista's launch upgrade later to the new operating system, but they argued nonetheless that people who bought "Vista Capable" computers were harmed because they could only run a basic version of Vista.

The judge said if they added a named plaintiff who did take part in Microsoft's "Express Upgrade" program, they could pursue that claim as well.

Microsoft said it was reviewing the ruling. (AGENCIES)

Man gets 28 years in USD 190 million investment scam

LOS ANGELES, Feb 23: An 81-year-old man has been sentenced to 28 years in prison in an investment scam that prosecutors say sweeped across half the country and bilked 1,800 people, many of them elderly, of about USD 190 million.

John Heath, who was convicted last month alongside his son Daniel Heath and another man, also was ordered to pay USD 117 million in restitution to the clients who invested directly through him.

He dabbed at his eyes during the hearing yesterday and left court in a wheelchair.

Jurors found the three guilty of running a Ponzi scheme that funneled money from new investors to pay off people who had already pumped in cash. John Heath was convicted on 52 counts including grand theft, selling false securities and theft from the elderly.

About 100 letters from victims were sent to the Riverside County Superior Court, and about a dozen of them were read to Judge Ronald Taylor, said Ingrid Wyatt, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. The notes talked about how the victims' lives had been affected after learning their investments with Daniel W Heath & Associates had been lost.

Some of Heath's adult children spoke at the hearing, pleading for leniency for their father. Heath's attorney, Chad Firetag, asked the judge for probation, citing his client's age and failing health. Firetag has said the elder Heath wasn't aware of the scam and had enough trust in his son that he plowed his own commissions back into the investments. (AGENCIES)

Japan's oldest person dies at age 113

TOKYO, Feb 23: Japan's oldest person has died at a hospital in southwestern Japan, her nursing home said today. She was 113.

Tsuneyo Toyonaga, who became the country's oldest person last August, died yesterday, days after she was transferred to a nearby hospital because she lost her appetite, said Masuko Yamamoto, deputy director of the Yume-no-Sato nursing home in the southern city of Nangoku.

Born on May 21, 1894, Toyonaga had been in the nursing home the last 12 years. She was a darling among caretakers and fellow residents, Yamamoto said.

"She was dozing off most of the day recently but when she was awake she used to enjoy singing children's songs. Once she started singing she wouldn't stop until we all got tired and had to stop her," she said.

Toyonaga is survived by five children and ten grandchildren, Kyodo News agency said.

Kaku Yamanaka, born on December 11, 1894, is now Japan's oldest person, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry. She lives in a nursing home in Aichi, central Japan.

The number of Japanese living beyond 100 has almost quadrupled in the past 10 years and is soon expected to surpass 28,000.

Japan has one of the world's longest average life spans- a factor often attributed to a healthy diet rich in fish and rice. In 2006 Japanese women set a new record for life expectancy at 85.81 years, while men live an average of about 79 years.

Edna Parker of Shelbyville, Indiana, is recognized as the world's oldest person at age 114, according to The Guinness Book of Records. She was born on April 20, 1893. (AGENCIES)

Diana's former butler asked to explain 'lies' at inquest

LONDON, Feb 23: The Coroner at the inquest into the death of Princess Diana has recalled her former butler Paul Burrell to explain inconsistencies in his testimony.

Lord Justice Scott Baker has asked the former butler to return to the witness box to explain whether he held back facts and introduced "red herrings" during his evidence at the inquest, following a report in a British tabloid.

"The Coroner has asked Mr Burrell to return to court to explain discrepancies between the evidence he gave to the inquest and the material which is contained in the transcripts of the recording taken by The Sun newspaper," the British media quoted a spokesperson for the inquest as saying.

'The Sun' recently published transcripts what it claimed was a video footage of Burrell boasting about how he withheld information from the judge during his testimony: "I told the truth as far as I could, but I didn't tell the whole truth. Perjury is not a nice thing to have to contemplate. I was very naughty."

In the tape, which the paper said was recorded in New York, Burrell said he was not willing to reveal the entire details of his conversation with the Queen after Diana's death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

He had previously claimed the Queen warned him about "dark forces" at work.

"The conversation with the Queen was three hours long. I wasn't about to sit there and divulge everything she said to me," Burrell said on the video.

However, Burrell's lawyers have called the newspaper report "incomplete, and the result of entrapment". (PTI)

Britney Spears will be allowed to visit with her young sons

LOS ANGELES, Feb 23: Kevin Federline has agreed to give ex-wife Britney Spears visitation rights with their two young sons, his lawyer said.

Federline attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan said in a statement yesterday that the former couple has agreed to a modification of a court order that had stripped Spears of her visitation rights. The statement did not provide more details.

A call to a Spears' attorney was not immediately returned.

A court commissioner gave Federline sole physical and legal custody of their two little boys and suspended the pop star's visitation rights on January 4.

Spears has not been allowed to see sons Jayden James, 1 and Sean Preston, 2, since an incident at her home that led to the first of her two hospitalisations in a psychiatric facility this year.

Spears had been in a downward spiral of bizarre behavior since divorcing Federline in November 2006. She shaved her head, ran over a celebrity photographer's foot and attacked a vehicle with an umbrella, among other strange behaviors.

Spears and her estate were placed under a temporary conservatorship after she was taken to UCLA Medical Center on January 31. Conservatorships are granted for people deemed unable to care for themselves or their affairs.

Another court commissioner said yesterday the conservatorship case was in "a holding pattern."

A federal judge is considering a claim by a lawyer who says he represents the pop star and that the terms of the conservatorship violate her civil rights. The lawyer said the case should be moved to the federal US District Court.

During a short hearing on Spears' conservatorship, Commissioner Reva Goetz asked attorneys for James Spears, the pop star's father and co-conservator of her estate, for an update on proceedings in federal court. (AGENCIES)

Fox TV stations fined for 2003 reality show with sexual scenes

WASHINGTON, Feb 23: Regulators have fined 13 Fox TV stations USD 7,000 each for a 2003 episode of a reality show that included graphic scenes from bachelor and bachelorette parties.

The Federal Communications Commission had initially proposed a USD 1.2 million fine against 169 affiliates of Fox Broadcasting Co., a division of News Corp., that aired the since-canceled show "Married by America". But, under a new policy, the agency said it would only fine stations in markets where viewers complained.

Last week, the FCC fined 44 ABC Television Network stations a total of USD 1.2 million over a 2003 broadcast of "NYPD Blue". The agency is focused on a scene in which a boy surprises a nude woman as she prepares to shower. ABC is owned by Walt Disney Co.

In the "Married by America" ruling, TV stations in Des Moines, Iowa; Nashville, Tennessee; Detroit; Washington; Minneapolis; West Point, Mississippi; Greenville, South Carolina; Yakima, Washington; Charleston West Virginia; Lansing, Michigan; Roanoke, Virginia; Kansas City, Missouri; and Tampa, Florida. Face fines totaling USD 91,000.

"Fox strongly disagrees with the commission's conclusions in the notice and we will be actively considering our options," Scott Grogin, the company's senior vice president of corporate communications said in a statement. He declined to comment further. (AGENCIES)

It’s fine to shoot a blackbuck in Pakistan!

ISLAMABAD, Feb 23: Bollywood star Salman Khan has been doing the rounds of Indian courts for a decade for allegedly poaching two blackbucks in Rajasthan, but in neighbouring Pakistan it is perfectly alright for hunting enthusiasts to shoot down the endangered species.

The Director General of wildlife and parks of Pakistan’s Punjab province has invited applications for "trophy hunting of blue bulls, blackbucks, Mouflon sheep and hog deer" for three weeks beginning tomorrow.

"Recreation and joy both in hunting opportunity," read the half-page advertisement in a leading English daily here.

Enthusiasts have been invited to trophy hunt at the Perowal Wildlife Park in Khanewal district, 250 km from Lahore, the cultural capital of the country.

There is a fee of Rs 60,000 for shooting a male blue bull, Rs 40,000 for a blackbuck, Rs 21,000 for a hog deer and Rs 25,000 for a Mouflon sheep.

However, if a second animal is accidentally injured, the hunter will have to pay twice the fee.

To ensure "maximum comfort" for hunters, the Director-General has also provided camping facilities at the site.

The advertisement gave a reason for the trophy hunting: "As a result of successful captive breeding ... The department has a variety of males of wild species (of) trophy size, which will be offered to genuine hunters for trophy hunting (in) 2008."

An open auction was held in Lahore on Thursday for the trophy hunters.

Blackbucks have an average lifespan of 12 to 16 years and are believed to be one of the fastest animals in the world. In India, the species is protected by the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

Almost a decade ago, during the shooting of Hindi film "Hum Saath Saath Hain", Salman Khan went hunting with a group of co-actors and allegedly shot down two blackbucks in Rajasthan.

The gunshots alerted villagers from the Bishnoi community who consider wildlife as sacred. Salman was booked under the Wildlife Act and the case has haunted him since.

In August 2007, a five-year jail term given to Salman was upheld by a district court and he was packed off to jail for about a week.

Earlier, another advertisement was placed in newspapers by Pakistan’s wildlife department, inviting people to shoot Urials and pheasants.

Arab sheikhs flock to Pakistan each year for trophy hunting, with the troubled North West Frontier Province being a favourite with most. (PTI)