Oscar Nominees Attended Lunch At Beverley Hills

Oscars nominees gathered for the annual nominees luncheon, an informal gathering of Academy Award contenders just three weeks ahead of the March 7 awards season extravaganza at Beverly Hills.
Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Morgan Freeman Carey Mulligan, Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock were among those stars who rendered shine to the event. Sandra Bullock spoke of maintaining a good work ethic for years to come. Bullock has been considered the front-runner to win best actress for the football drama “The Blind Side” but said didn’t take her nomination for granted.
“Does anybody expect a nomination? I certainly didn’t,” said Bullock, an enduring box-office draw who had never before been nominated for an Oscar. “I’m really very amazed and thankful to be here, because I’d like to work hard for another 10, 15 years. So if this is what that means, bring it.” Bullock, Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe, a best-actress nominee for the Harlem drama “Precious: Based on the Novel `Push’ By Sapphire,” said they have barely started to consider what to wear to the Oscars, one of the world’s top fashion bashes.

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Oscar Nominees Attended Lunch At Beverley Hills was first posted on February 16, 2010 at 5:21 pm.

Bomb in Northern Iraq, 2 killed

BAGHDAD: A car bomb exploded Tuesday outside a police crime lab in northern Iraq, killing at least two people, Iraqi authorities said.

The bomb targeting the lab was the latest in a string of attacks against security forces in Mosul, an area where insurgents retain a foothold despite a sharp drop in violence across the rest of the country.

The car bomb was parked outside a side entrance to the lab in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Salim Ibrahim, an area commander.

It wounded seven people, including five police officers, he said.

The explosion knocked over concrete blast walls and caused minor damage to the building, Ibrahim said.

In recent weeks in and around Mosul, security checkpoints have been attacked in drive-by shootings and the motorcade of the provincial governor was attacked.

Tuesday’s attack follows a suicide bombing last month that destroyed the Baghdad’s main crime lab and left at least 22 dead.

Gunmen also opened fire on two Christian college students waiting at a bus stop in Mosul, killing one and wounding the other, a police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Christians have been routinely been the targets of sectarian violence since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion.

The attacks come at sensitive time for Iraqi security forces, who are under fire to shore up security after lapses that allowed for attacks against a number of government sites.

The U.S. military has warned of a possible escalation in violence ahead of Iraq’s March 7 parliamentary elections.

Political tensions between the Shiite-led government and minority Sunnis have been on the rise after a vetting committee barred hundreds of candidates from running because of ties to Saddam Hussein outlawed Baath Party.

An explosion late Monday targeted the Baghdad political office of al-Ahrar, a party that includes followers of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, police said.

Punched-out round holes in the office walls indicate that at least two rockets were fired at the building, observers said. Officials blamed a roadside bomb for the explosion, which killed one person and wounded three, including Majid Hussein Taha — a director of the Ministry of Agriculture and a candidate running on the party’s ticket.

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Bomb in Northern Iraq, 2 killed was first posted on February 16, 2010 at 5:54 pm.

PM, CM Punjab Vow to Avoid Political Conforntation

LAHORE, Pakistan News: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that the supremacy of Parliament would be maintained, adding that he believes in an unbiased accountability and vowed to take everyone on board vis-à-vis the new accountability bill.
The PM stated this during a meeting with Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, who called on him at his residence in Defence, Lahore on Monday.
During an hour long meeting, both the leaders agreed to avoid political conflict in the country. Gilani said that the government would give good news to the nation regarding the 17th amendment soon.CM Shahbaz Sharif while talking on the occasion said that PML-N did not believe in confrontational politics and always preferred the national interests. Shahbaz also observed that the decisions of the constitutional institutions be acted upon in view of the country’s situation.

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PM, CM Punjab Vow to Avoid Political Conforntation was first posted on December 21, 2009 at 4:05 pm.

Suicide Bomb In Northern Iraq, 4 killed

BAGHDAD: Police and health officials in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar say a suicide bomber killed a local council member and three of his guards.

A police officer in the city says the leader of the local council was driving in a nine-vehicle convoy when a suicide bomber walked up to the convoy and blew himself up Monday.

A doctor at a local hospital confirmed the account. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Tal Afar is about 90 miles (150 kilometers) east of the Syrian border, in Ninevah province. Insurgents frequently staged bombings there in past years.

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Suicide Bomb In Northern Iraq, 4 killed was first posted on December 21, 2009 at 5:59 pm.