W O R L D

Adele sweeps Grammys with six wins 
Los Angeles, February 13
Soul singer Adele triumphed over Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga to win the Album of the Year award for her chart-topping “21” and five other trophies at the 54th Grammy awards. “Mom, gold is good!” Adele shouted as she took the album of the year trophy.

Jennifer Hudson reacts after performing ‘I Will Always Love You’ as a tribute to the late Whitney Houston at the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. — Reuters

‘The Artist’, Meryl rule at BAFTAs
London, February 13
French black and white drama ‘The Artist’ won gold at the 65th British Film Academy Awards winning seven trophies, including Best Picture, while Meryl Streep continued with her winning streak grabbing the best leading actress gong.

Syria rejects Arab plan, pounds cities
Amman/Beirut, February 13
Syrian forces bombarded districts of Homs and attacked other cities on Monday after Arab states pledged support for the opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad and called for international peacekeepers to be sent to the country. Tank fire was concentrated on two Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods that have been at the forefront of an 11-month-old uprising against Assad, activists said.


A girl holds a doll and a banner during a protest against the Syrian President in Daria, near Damascus. — Reuters

Adele sweeps Grammys with six wins 
Music’s biggest awards pay tribute to Whitney Houston

Singer Adele holds her six Grammy Awards

Los Angeles, February 13
Soul singer Adele triumphed over Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga to win the Album of the Year award for her chart-topping “21” and five other trophies at the 54th Grammy awards.

“Mom, gold is good!” Adele shouted as she took the album of the year trophy.

Adele, known for her powerful voice, underwent a vocal surgery in November last year but the singer made a grand return to the music scene with her multiple win.

The singer’s six wins also included record and song of the year for “Rolling in the Deep”. The only other singer to win six trophies in one night is Beyonce, who set the record two years ago.

The 23-year-old artiste won trophies in all the six categories she was nominated for, making a clean sweep at the mega music awards here, which mourned the death of Whitney Houston.

In the most poignant moment of the award night, singer Jennifer Hudson paid a music tribute to her idol by singing Houston’s signature songs, “I Will Always Love You”, ending it with “Whitney, we will always love you.”

Singer Tony Bennett received the Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group for his duet with late Amy Winehouse on “Body and Soul”. — PTI

‘The Artist’, Meryl rule at BAFTAs

London, February 13
French black and white drama ‘The Artist’ won gold at the 65th British Film Academy Awards winning seven trophies, including Best Picture, while Meryl Streep continued with her winning streak grabbing the best leading actress gong.

Actress Meryl Streep with her 'Best Actress' award for her role in "The Iron Lady". — AP/PTI

The awards, which are Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars, gave the Best Film trophy to ‘The Artist’, a French homage to old silent film era Hollywood, over other critically acclaimed films like ‘The Help’ and ‘The Descendants’.

The film’s star Jean Dujardin took home the Best Leading Actor award, leaving behind the likes of Hollywood bigwigs like Brad Pitt (Moneyball), George Clooney (The Descendants) and Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

Director of ‘The Artist’ Michel Hazanavicius won prizes for directing and his original screenplay.

‘The Artist’ has already won three Golden Globes and has 10 Oscar nominations.

Streep was named best actress for her depiction of Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister, in ‘The Iron Lady’, a role which has already won her a Golden Globe last month. — PTI 

Syria rejects Arab plan, pounds cities
Damascus says no to international peacekeeping

Amman/Beirut, February 13
Syrian forces bombarded districts of Homs and attacked other cities on Monday after Arab states pledged support for the opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad and called for international peacekeepers to be sent to the country.

Tank fire was concentrated on two Sunni Muslim neighbourhoods that have been at the forefront of an 11-month-old uprising against Assad, activists said. “Mortar rounds and bombardment from BTRs (infantry fighting vehicles) are heavily hitting Baba Amro. We do not have numbers for any casualties because there is no communication with the district,” activist Mohammad al-Hassan told Reuters from Homs.

Activists said 23 persons were killed on Sunday, adding to a toll of more than 300 since the assault on Homs began on February 3. The renewed barrages served as an emphatic response to Arab League moves to boost the opposition campaign against Assad, who is resisting calls to step down after 11 years of authoritarian rule.

Meeting in Cairo on Sunday, Arab League ministers proposed a joint United Nations-Arab peacekeeping force for Syria and pledged to provide political and material aid to the opposition.

However, the plan faces all kinds of obstacles. World powers are divided over how to resolve the crisis and Russia and China, who vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Syria on February 4 are unlikely to welcome foreign intervention.

In Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was studying the Arab proposal for a peacekeeping mission but wanted more details. He said violence should end before any such mission takes place and international pressure should focus on the Syrian opposition as well as the government.

“In other words, it is necessary to agree to something like a ceasefire but the tragedy is that the armed groups that are confronting the forces of the regime are not subordinate to anyone and are not under control,” Lavrov said. China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday backed what it termed the Arab League’s “mediation” but offered no clear sign of support for its call for peacekeepers.

“Relevant moves by the United Nations should be conducive towards lessening tension in Syria, pushing political dialogue and resolving differences, as well as maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East, rather than complicating things,”ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a regular news briefing.

Russia and China were both heavily criticised by the West for blocking the draft U.N. resolution that backed an Arab League call on Assad to step down. — Reuters