Oscar 2009, Hurt Locker Sweeps Oscar Awards

The Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker has bagged the Best Picture and five other prizes at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, its haul including best director for Kathryn Bigelow.
Bigelow is the first woman in the 82-year history of the Oscars to earn Hollywood's top prize for filmmakers.

Iraq war movie "The Hurt Locker," took the Oscars by storm on Sunday winning six of the major film honours, including best movie and director for Kathryn Bigelow who became the first woman to win that honour.

The drama about a squad of bomb defusing specialists and the emotional toll war takes on them also secured writer Mark Boal the Academy Award for best original screenplay, and claimed honours for film editing, sound editing and mixing.

"Hurt Locker" and Bigelow won Oscars over stiff competition from her ex-husband James Cameron, whose sci-fi adventure "Avatar" is the top-grossing movie ever with USD 2.5 billion at box offices and was seen as a favourite for best movie.

"This really is, there's no other way to describe it, it's the moment of a lifetime," Bigelow said.

"Avatar" earned 3 Oscars, but in technical categories -- visual effects, cinematography and art direction.

Veteran Jeff Bridges claimed best actor playing a drunken country singer in drama "Crazy Heart." The son of Hollywood star Lloyd Bridges, held his trophy high over his head, looking to the heavens and thanking his deceased parents.

"Mom and Dad, yeah," he shouted. "Thank you Mom and Dad for turning me on to such a groovy profession."

Sandra Bullock was named best actress for "The Blind Side" in a first for the actress once dubbed "America's Sweetheart" because she won so many early fans in her romantic comedies.

But for "The Blind Side," she took the part of a real-life, strong-willed mother who helps take a homeless youth off the street and makes him into a football success.

"Did I really earn this, or did I just wear you all down?" she joked on Oscar's stage.

Dark drama "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" earned two Oscars including supporting actress for Mo'Nique and adapted screenplay for writer Geoffrey Fletcher, who became the first African American to claim that honour.

Christoph Waltzwon best supporting actor for his turn as a menacing Nazi officer in revenge fantasy "Inglourious Basterds," which follows a band of American Jews killing their enemies behind lines during World War Two.

"Up" was named best animated movie, and Argentina's "The Secret in Their Eyes" won best foreign language film.

Tags: Hart Locker, Hurt loker, Awatar, Avatar, Avathar, Hurt Lock

Turkey Earth Quake; Death Toll growing; Eastern Thurkey hit by earth quake

ANKARA, Turkey — A strong earthquake that hit eastern Turkey and death toll is growing, officially it is reached 57.

A mayor says 57 people have died in the quake that struck six villages in Elazig province.

The quake struck Elazig at 4:32 a.m. (0232 GMT) and was centered near the village of Basyurt. It was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 5.5.

The quake was felt in the neighboring provinces of Tunceli, Bingol and Diyarbakir, where residents fled to the streets in panic and spent the night outdoors.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A strong earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6, hit eastern Turkey on Monday, killing at least 41 people and knocking down houses in at least six small villages, the government said.

The quake affected villages near the town of Kovancilar, toppling stone or mud-brick homes and minarets of mosques, officials and media reports said. The worst-hit area was the village of Okcular where some 17 people were reported killed and homes crumbled into piles of dirt.

The government's crisis center said around 100 people were also injured in the quake, which occurred at 4:32 a.m. (0232 GMT, 9 p.m. EST Sunday) in Elazig province, about 550 kilometers (340 miles) east of Ankara, the capital.

It caught many people in their sleep. It was centered near the village of Basyurt, and was followed by more than 30 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 5.5, the Kandilli seismology center said.

Emergency workers were trying to rescue four people from debris, Gov. Muammer Erol said. CNN-Turk television said the dead included four young sisters trapped in the rubble.

"Everything has been knocked down, there is not a stone in place," said Yadin Apaydin, administrator for the village of Yukari Kanatli, where he said at least three villagers died.

Authorities blocked access to Okcular village, to facilitate the entry and exit of ambulances and rescue teams on the village's narrow roads. Relatives rushed to the village for news of their loved ones.

"The village is totally flattened," Okcular's administrator Hasan Demirdag told private NTV television.

The quake was felt in the neighboring provinces of Tunceli, Bingol and Diyarbakir where residents fled to the streets in panic and spent the night outdoors.

Some of the injuries occurred during the panic, when people jumped from windows or balconies. Dogan news agency footage showed people bringing in the injured to hospitals by cars and taxis.

Kandilli Observatory's director, Mustafa Erdik, urged residents not to enter damaged homes, warning that they could topple from the aftershocks, which could last for days.

Television footage showed rescue workers and soldiers at Okcular lifting debris as villagers looked on. Rescuers could be seen digging into dirt and then removing an elderly man. The man had died and his body was quickly covered with a sheet.

Two women sat on mattresses wrapped in blankets. Turkey's Red Crescent organization began setting up tents in the region.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, much of which lies on top of the North Anatolian fault. In 1999, two powerful earthquakes struck northwestern Turkey, killing about 18,000 people.

In 2007, an earthquake measuring 5.7 damaged buildings in Elazig, briefly trapping a woman under debris. In 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude collapsed a school dormitory in the neighboring province of Bingol province, killing 83 children. The collapse was blamed on poor construction.

Tag: Thurky, Thurkey, Turky, Turkey, Angara, Earth Quake