HozNews

Rio De Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro was Monday reveling in its famous Carnival parades, which this year were looking like a feverish, ultimate bash before the sharp teeth of the global economic crisis really bite deep.

Topless Carnival queens, costumed dancers, huge thematic floats and thumping bands march in the city’s Sambodrome stadium overnight and were to return later Monday, wrapping up the two nights of spectacular processions.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was among the 70,000 people sitting in the venue on the first night, Sunday — the first time he has attended the Rio shows since taking power in 2003.

For locals and tourists alike, the parade extravaganza was an overwhelmingly festive occasion.

Many jigged in time to the music while holding cellphones and cameras to take pictures of the samba schools filing past in their annual competition, in which timing, props and harmony mattered more to judges than the toned bare flesh being exhibited.

“It’s like being at a football game, only with naked ladies,” chortled one Russian tourist, Alexandr Kugushev, 27, during Sunday night’s show.

His wife Daria, also 27, chimed in with a more romantic take: “It’s just grand, like a fairytale.”

The over-the-top flow of feathers, drums, g-strings and four-storey-high mythological and historical figures came with a price, though.

Each of the entries cost an estimated two to three million dollars, and were months in preparation.

Financing traditionally comes from corporate sponsors, but that source was drying up under the pressures from the crisis.

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil group, cut back on the five million dollars it gave to the 12 Rio samba schools last year. Unilever, the consumer products multinational, also dropped its backing of one of the schools, Beija-Flor.

President Lula had his government step forward with three million dollars to help the schools pull through. And Rio municipal authorities were also providing aid.

But there were fears that next year’s celebration will be more of a budget affair, dealing a blow to what Rio calls “the greatest show on Earth.”

As Rosa Magalhaes, artistic director of the rival Imperatriz Leopoldinense samba school, put it: “I think the crisis will hit in 2010.”

Foreign tourists, some of whom pay the samba schools for a costume to take part in the Carnival parades, were still out in force this year — in part because the 30 percent fall of the Brazilian currency, the real, against the dollar in recent months has made Rio cheaper for them.

But the sharp economic downturn in the United States and Europe meant inevitably numbers would decline at next year’s Carnival, regardless of currency conditions.

Brazil, which had been relatively sheltered from the full brunt of the crisis, was starting to suffer from the downturn.

Embraer, the country’s aircraft maker, announced on Carnival’s eve it was sacking more than 4,000 workers — the biggest mass lay-off yet announced in Brazil.

General Motors Brazil and mining giant Vale have also cut jobs, by 800 and 1,300 respectively.

On top of that, industrial output is diving, exports are slowing and credit has become tougher to get.

All of that meant a post-Carnival hangover that many in Brazil fear could last a long time.

A headless body has been discovered in the Chao Phraya river near the Rama VIII bridge where the head of a male foreigner was found hanging from a rope on Sunday.

The body was sent yesterday to Siriraj Hospital for examination to check on a match with the head.

Specialists estimated the man had died about 24 hours before the body was found.

Pol Col Pornsak Surasit, commander of the Crime Suppression Police Division 1, said the body had not yet been identified.

He said it was uncertain whether the man was murdered or if he committed suicide.

Pol Col Chawalit Prasopsin, deputy commander of Metropolitan Police Division 7, said specialists at Siriraj Hospital would need time to examine the head thoroughly to determine whether it was severed with a sharp object.

The headless body was found in the Chao Phraya river about 2pm yesterday when police were searching in the area of the Rama VIII bridge for clues about the head.

The body was clad in a white long-sleeved shirt, a pair of black trousers with dots and a pair of sneakers. A box of matches was found on the body.

On Sunday afternoon, the head of a foreigner was found hanging about 5 metres below the railing of the bridge.

A Puma-brand white polyester bag was found attached to the rope used to hang the head from the bridge. There were some Italian words printed on one side of the bag.

A police source said checks had found the bag was not made or sold locally.

The source said the rope was of the type used in mountain climbing.

Police found a message written in English saying, “Cath. I want but I cannot”, and, “I came to Bangkok to be you”.

Police have sent information and a description of the man to embassies in Bangkok.

They have also distributed photographs of the dead man in Khao San road and Soi Nana, areas popular with foreign tourists, to try to find clues to his identity.

Video footage from surveillance cameras installed on the bridge has also been checked, but no clues have been found so far.

Yesterday morning, officials from the Russian embassy arrived at Bowon Mongkhon police station to check the picture of the man.

They found that the man had some features typical of a Russian and believed he could be a Russian national.

The head of a foreigner has been found dangling from the railing of the Rama VIII bridge in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district.

Pol Lt-Col Atcharat Hemthanon, of Bowon Mongkhon police station, said the head was found hanging 5 metres below the bridge early yesterday afternoon.

Police found a message written in English saying, “I want it but I didn’t get what I want,” and, “I came here to see you”.

Pol Lt-Col Atcharat said he received a call about the head about 2pm.

He went to the scene with Pol Col Chawalit Prasopsin, deputy commander of Metropolitan Police Division 7, a medical specialist from Siriraj Hospital, a team from the Scientific Crime Detection Division and rescue volunteers from Por Tek Tung Foundation. The specialist from Siriraj said the head was probably severed with a sharp object, and belonged to a Western man in his 40s.

He estimated the man was killed about eight hours before the examination.

A Puma-brand white polyester bag was also found attached to the rope used to hang the head from the bridge.

Pol Col Chawalit said police were searching for the man’s body.

Investigators do not believe he took his own life.

Police investigators will ask for video footage from two surveillance cameras installed on Rama VIII bridge, and question any witnesses who appear in the footage, Pol Col Chawalit said.

“Right now, police want to identify the dead man,” he said.

If investigators could contact the man’s relatives, they might be able to find out the cause of death, he said.

Bowon Mongkhon police have asked police in the nearby Chana Songkhram area, which is popular with foreign tourists, whether anyone who fits the man’s description has been reported missing.

TRIBUTE TO HEATH LEDGER: The Hollywood crowd rose to its feet, with nominees Angelina Jolie and Anne Hathaway getting teary-eyed, as the late actor’s family stepped up to accept his best supporting trophy for “The Dark Knight.” Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger, said the award “would have humbly validated Heath’s quiet determination to be truly accepted by all you here tonight, his peers within an industry he so loved.” Sister Kate Ledger told the audience the honor will go to “your beautiful Matilda.”

MILKING IT: Sean Penn playfully taunted Academy voters as “commie, homo-loving sons of guns” while accepting his second Oscar for best actor for his role as slain gay-rights leader Harvey Milk in “Milk.” Penn smiled and poked fun at his difficult reputation, saying, “I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often.” He then struck a serious note in urging “equal rights for everyone” amid intolerance. Dustin Lance Black, who won best original screenplay for “Milk,” echoed that sentiment earlier in his emotional speech, thanking Milk for inspiring him to believe “maybe I could fall in love and one day get married.”

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AND TIGGER TOO: In one of Sunday’s sweetest moments, “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle jumped up and down like Tigger the hyper tiger from “Winnie the Pooh” after winning for best director. Explaining his eccentric behavior, the British filmmaker said he’d told his children that “if this miracle ever happened, I would receive it in the spirit of Tigger — which is just what happened.”

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WHISTLING WINSLET: An unexpected moment came out of Kate Winslet’s predictable best-actress win for “The Reader.” Winslet, giddy and charming as ever on stage, searched for her father in the audience, asking him to “whistle or something ’cause I’ll know where you are.” Papa Winslet, looking very Johnny Cash in a black hat, whistled back from his seat at the Kodak Theatre.

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BALANCING ACT: Philippe Petit, the tightrope-walking star of Best Documentary-winning “Man on Wire,” showed his gratitude by balancing the Oscar on his chin. How’s that for an acceptance speech?

LOS ANGELES – “Slumdog Millionaire” took the best-picture Academy Award and seven other Oscars on Sunday, including director for Danny Boyle, whose ghetto-to-glory story paralleled the film’s unlikely rise to Hollywood’s summit.

The other top winners: Kate Winslet, best actress for the Holocaust-themed drama “The Reader”; Sean Penn, best actor for the title role of “Milk”; Heath Ledger, supporting actor for “The Dark Knight”; and Penelope Cruz, supporting actress for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

A story of hope amid squalor in Mumbai, India, “Slumdog Millionaire” came in with 10 nominations, its eight wins including adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing and both music Oscars (score and song).

“Just to say to Mumbai, all of you who helped us make the film and all of those of you who didn’t, thank you very much. You dwarf even this guy,” Boyle said, holding up his directing Oscar.

The filmmakers accepted the best-picture trophy surrounded by both the adult professional actors who appeared among the cast of relative unknowns and some of the children Boyle cast from the slums of Mumbai.

The film follows the travails and triumphs of Jamal, an orphan who artfully dodges a criminal gang that mutilates children to make them more pitiable beggars. Jamal witnesses his mother’s violent death, endures police torture and struggles with betrayal by his brother, while single-mindedly hoping to reunite with the lost love of his childhood.

Fate rewards Jamal, whose story unfolds through flashbacks as he recalls how he came to know the answers that made him a champion on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

As he took the stage to accept his prize for playing slain gay-rights pioneer Harvey Milk, Penn gleefully told the crowd: “You commie, homo-loving sons of guns.”

He followed with condemnation of anti-gay protesters who demonstrated near the Oscar site and comments about California’s recent vote to ban gay marriage.

“For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think it’s a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect on their great shame and their shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that support,” Penn said. “We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone.”

For his demented reinvention of Batman villain the Joker, Ledger became only the second actor ever to win posthumously, his triumph coming exactly 13 months after his death from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

His Oscar for the Warner Bros. blockbuster was accepted by Ledger’s parents and sister on behalf of the actor’s 3-year-old daughter, Matilda.

“I have to say this is ever so humbling, just being amongst such wonderful people in such a wonderful industry,” said his father, Kim Ledger. “We’d like to thank the academy for recognizing our son’s amazing work, Warner Bros., and Christopher Nolan in particular for allowing Heath the creative license to develop and explore this crazy Joker character.”

Since his death, the 28-year-old Ledger has gained a mythic aura akin to James Dean, another rising star who died well before his time.

The Joker was his final completed role, a casting choice that initially drew scorn from fans who thought Ledger would not be up to the task given Jack Nicholson’s gleefully campy rendition of the character in 1989’s “Batman.”

In the months before Ledger’s death, buzz on his wickedly chaotic performance swelled as marketing for the movie centered on the Joker and the perverted clown makeup he hid behind.

Ledger’s death fanned a frenzy of anticipation for “The Dark Knight,” which had a record $158.4 million opening weekend last summer.

The previous posthumous Oscar recipient was Peter Finch, who won best actor for 1976’s “Network” two months after his death.

Cruz triumphed as a woman in a steamy three-way affair with her ex-husband and an American woman in Woody Allen’s romance.

“Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one,” Cruz said, who went on with warm thanks to Allen. “Thank you, Woody, for trusting me with this beautiful character. Thank you for having written all these years some of the greatest characters for women.”

“OK, that fainting thing, Penelope,” Winslet joked later as she accepted her best-actress prize for “The Reader,” in which she plays a former concentration camp guard in an affair with a teen. “I’d be lying if I haven’t made a version of this speech before. I think I was probably 8 years old and staring into the bathroom mirror, and this would be a shampoo bottle. But it’s not a shampoo bottle now.”

It was Winslet’s first win after five previous losses.

“Slumdog” writer Simon Beaufoy, who adapted the script from Vikas Swarup’s novel “Q&A,” said there are places he never could imagine being.

“For me, it’s the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium, and here,” Beaufoy said.

The epic love story “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which led with 13 nominations, had three wins, for visual effects, art direction and makeup.

“The Dark Knight” had a second win, for sound editing.

“Milk” writer Dustin Lance Black offered an impassioned tribute to Milk.

“If Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he would want me to say to all the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told they are less than by the churches, by the government, by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value, and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights, federally, across this great nation of ours,” Black said.

“Man on Wire,” James Marsh’s examination of tight-rope walker Philippe Petit’s dazzling stroll between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974, was chosen as best documentary.

The acting categories were presented by five past winners of the same awards, among them last year’s actress winners, Marion Cotillard and Tilda Swinton, plus Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Kevin Kline, Sophia Loren, Anthony Hopkins, Shirley MacLaine and Robert De Niro.

It was a much different style for the Oscars as each past recipient offered personal tributes to one of the nominees, without clips of the nominated performances. Awards usually are done in chit-chat style between a couple of celebrity presenters.

After last year’s Oscars delivered their worst TV ratings ever, producers this time aimed to liven up the show with some surprises and new ways of presenting awards. Rather than hiring a comedian such as past hosts Jon Stewart or Chris Rock, the producers went with actor and song-and-dance man Hugh Jackman, who has been host of Broadway’s Tony Awards.

Instead of the usual standup routine, Jackman did an engaging musical number to open the show, saluting nominated films with a clever tribute.

Jackman later did a medley staged by his “Australia” director Baz Luhrmann with such performers as Beyonce Knowles and “High School Musical” stars Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron.

“Slumdog Millionaire” went into the evening after a run of prizes from earlier film honors.

The film nearly got lost in the shuffle as Warner Bros. folded its art-house banner, Warner Independent, which had been slated to distribute “Slumdog Millionaire.” It was rescued from the direct-to-video scrap heap when Fox Searchlight stepped in to release the film.

“Slumdog” composer A.R. Rahman, a dual Oscar winner for the score and song, said the movie was about “optimism and the power of hope.”

“All my life, I’ve had a choice of hate and love,” Rahman said. “I chose love, and I’m here.

NEW YORK – Kate Winslet pulled off the expected Sunday night, winning the Academy Award for best actress for her quietly powerful performance in “The Reader.”

Winslet was giddy and emotional as she accepted her trophy.

“I’d be lying if I haven’t made a version of this speech before,” she said. “I think I was probably 8 years old and staring into the bathroom mirror and this (Oscar) would be a shampoo bottle. But it’s not a shampoo bottle now.”

She thanked her husband, director Sam Mendes, and their two children. And she also thanked her father, saying “Dad, whistle or something ’cause then I’ll know where you are.” He whistled back from his seat at the Kodak Theatre.

“You just don’t think that these dreams that seem so silly and so impossible could ever really come true,” Winslet said backstage.

This is the first Oscar for Winslet, who’s been nominated five other times for her roles in “Titanic,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Iris,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Little Children.”

But the British actress seemed a shoo-in to win this year: She gained Oscar momentum after snagging a best supporting actress award at the Golden Globes for her role as a former Nazi camp guard in “The Reader,” as well as best dramatic actress for her role as an unhappy housewife in “Revolutionary Road.”

Winslet, 33, received more recognition on the awards circuit for “The Reader.” Her portrayal of Hanna Schmitz — a woman having a passionate affair with a teenager who encounters her again years later while she is on trial for Holocaust crimes — was raw and restrained, netting her additional trophies at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and British Film Academy Awards.

The best-actress category was loaded with strong contenders: Meryl Streep was another front-runner with her 15th acting nomination as a prickly nun in “Doubt.” Anne Hathaway played against her wholesome image as a toxic narcissist who leaves rehab to wreak havoc on her sister’s wedding in “Rachel Getting Married.” Angelina Jolie dug deep to portray a mother of a missing child in “Changeling.” And Melissa Leo was powerful as mom who forges an unlikely friendship in “Frozen River.”

LONDON (AFP) - - British reality TV star Jade Goody married her fiance Sunday, the latest installment in her very public fight with terminal cancer which has enchanted and unnerved Britons in near equal measure.

Goody, 27, who found fame after appearing in the show “Big Brother” in 2002, wed fiance Jack Tweed in a lavish ceremony and reception at a country house hotel north of London, her publicist Max Clifford confirmed.

Their big day — media rights were sold for a reported one million pounds (1.1 million euros, 1.4 million dollars) — was organised in the nine days since Tweed proposed in hospital after her terminal diagnosis.

It was a “happy ceremony with lots of tears, lots of smiles, lots of laughter … (a) very beautiful, very moving service,” Clifford said. He added that the bride had taken painkillers to get her through the day.

Goody has defended her decision to live out in the public eye what will likely be her last weeks, saying the money she earned would help provide for her two young sons, aged five and four.

“I’ve lived in front of the cameras. And maybe I’ll die in front of them,” the star, who has lost her hair after chemotherapy for cervical cancer, told last week’s News of the World newspaper.

“I know some people don’t like what I’m doing but at this point I really don’t care what other people think. Now, it’s about what I want.”

Goody’s approach has prompted an agonised debate in Britain about the rights and wrongs of such a public death.

Some commentators admire her fortitude and determination to protect her children.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, told Sky News television: “A lot of people say: ‘Well, it’s better if she did everything in quiet.’

“But I think she’s made a decision that she wants the last months of her life to teach people something.”

Others, though, see something ghoulish in the volume of newsprint devoted to her in recent days.

“There are precedents for the place that Jade Goody occupies in modern British life — people once used to queue at fairgrounds to watch human freaks,” the Guardian newspaper said in an editorial Tuesday. “But her fame really is a story of our own media age.”

Even British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has described Goody’s plight as a “tragedy”, adding: “Everyone who suffers cancer has the thoughts of me, and I think the whole country, over what they’ve got to go through.”

Exceptionally, Justice Secretary Jack Straw stepped in to ensure that Tweed, 21 — freed from jail last month after attacking a teenager with a golf club — can spend his wedding night with Goody, despite it breaching his bail terms.

Goody’s rise to fame underlines the huge popularity that reality television shows have built up in Britain in the last decade.

On her first “Big Brother” appearance, the ex-dental nurse from south London came fourth and was best known for her loud mouth and lack of general knowledge, referring to East Anglia, an area of England, as “East Angular.”

She later released an autobiography and her own perfume before returning as a contestant on “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2007.

This saw her spend weeks being filmed in a house with contestants including Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who she referred to as “Shilpa Poppadom,” sparking a major race row in Britain and India.

Goody’s career subsequently nose-dived. Last year, she appeared in the Indian version of “Big Brother” — “Bigg Boss” — but pulled out after being diagnosed with cancer.

Shetty has said she is “sad” about the news, telling ITV television Thursday: “I really want people to forget the past and I really want them to pray and send her good wishes because that’s something that will give her energy.”

TEHRAN (AFP) - - A committee monitoring Iranian websites said Sunday it had blocked two websites reportedly belonging to supporters of reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami, the state IRNA news agency said.

A statement from the committee said the websites were blocked after they were found to contain content that did not conform with its guidelines, the news agency said.

The committee is part of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, the body headed by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that makes educational and cultural policy in Iran.

It said the websites were found to “disturb national unity, cause public frustration with the efficiency of the system, and make accusations against individuals and officials.”

It said the websites were also not formally registered with the committee and so were not “recognised.”

“The guidelines set by the council and not political sentiment were the basis for the committee’s decision,” the statement added.

Iran’s moderate Sarmayeh newspaper said the two pro-Khatami sites had been blocked since Saturday.

The reformist leader, who was president between 1997 and 2005, announced earlier this month that he would make a new run for the post in a June election that is likely to pit him against Ahmadinejad.

Just two days after that announcement, Khatami was threatened by a hostile crowd during celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, a pro-Khatami foundation reported at the time.

Carrying sticks and shouting “Death to Khatami”, the hardliners tried to attack the former president who was protected by his own supporters, the Baran (Rain) Foundation website said

LONDON (AFP) - - US rockers Kings of Leon rode their success at last week’s Brit awards, when they picked up two gongs, to the top of the Britain’s album charts released Sunday.

“Only By The Night” knocked Lily Allen’s “It’s Not Me It’s You” off the top spot after being named best international album at the Brits on Wednesday, returning it to pole position in the album charts for the first time since late 2008.

Allen’s record, meanwhile, fell to second place and was followed by “Years of Refusal” by Morrissey, which debuted in third position.

The top five were rounded out by two other albums that benefitted from the Brits — Duffy’s “Rockferry”, which won best British album, rose 15 spots to fourth, and Elbow, named best British Group, soared 18 positions to fifth.

In the singles charts, Allen’s “The Fear” held on to the top spot for a fourth week running, followed by “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga and “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon, who were also named best international group.

LOS ANGELES - The “Slumdog Millionaire” child actors from the slums of Mumbai will be joining hundreds of movie stars on the red carpet at Sunday’s Oscar ceremony in Hollywood, the studio behind the film said on Friday.

Fox Searchlight said it was paying the bill for visas, travel and accommodations for nine children to fly to Los Angeles for the Oscars, where the rags-to-riches story is favorite for a best picture Oscar.

The studio said the children, who play the younger and teen versions of the characters portrayed by adults Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Madhur Mittal, will appear on the red carpet and attend the February 22 awards ceremony at the Kodak Theater.

The film makers were accused last month of exploiting the children. British director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson have rejected the charge, saying the children were paid above local Indian wages for their work and that the film’s makers were also paying for their education.

“Slumdog Millionaire” is nominated for 10 Oscars — the industry’s highest honors — including best picture and best director. It already has won at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild, and the British BAFTA awards.