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Here is a list of some of the key winners:

TAMPA - "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag," the story of celebrated Indian sprinter Milkha Singh, was the big
winner at the International Indian Film Academy awards which ran until early Sunday.


Here is a list of some of the key winners:

BEST PICTURE: "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag"






BEST DIRECTOR: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag"
BEST LEADING ACTOR: Farhan Akhtar, "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag"


BEST LEADING ACTRESS: Deepika Padukone, "Chennai Express"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Aditya Roy Kapoor, "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani"


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Divya Dutta, "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag"

BEST STORY: Prasoon Joshi, "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag"

BEST LYRICS: Mithoon for song "Tum Hi Ho" in movie "Aashiqui 2"

BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (MALE): Arjit Singh for song "Tum Hi Ho" in movie "Aashiqui 2"

BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (FEMALE): Shreya Ghoshal for song "Sunn Raha Hai" in movie "Aashiqui 2"

Malaysia has pledged that any data eventually recovered from plane's black box will be made public.


KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia s premier pledged to release a report on flight MH370 s disappearance as passengers  families protested Friday outside the country s embassy in Beijing, venting anger at the agonising information vacuum surrounding the plane.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose government has faced wide questioning over its transparency on MH370, promised that a preliminary report submitted to the UN s aviation body would be released publicly.
"In the name of transparency, we will release the report next week," he told CNN in an interview aired late Thursday.
That wasn t soon enough for dozens of Chinese relatives who held an overnight protest outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, according to a spokesman for relatives.
Many family members, especially those in China -- two-thirds of the 239 people aboard the Malaysia Airlines plane were Chinese -- have for weeks bitterly accused Malaysia of a secretive and incompetent MH370 response.
Tensions boiled over at a briefing Thursday at a hotel where relatives are staying, after airline representatives said a Malaysian embassy official would not arrive to answer their often extremely combative questions.
"We want somebody from the embassy to come out and tell us why they didn t come," said relative Steven Wang.
He said about 100 people had waited outside the mission overnight.
Police fanned out around the embassy Friday morning.
Dozens of relatives had staged a noisy protest last month at the embassy -- apparently sanctioned by Chinese authorities, who cleared streets for their approach -- decrying Malaysian authorities and the national airline as "murderers".
The Boeing 777 vanished on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and is now believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, where an Australian-led search is under way.
But a difficult underwater search of the suspected crash site, using an unmanned mini-submarine equipped with a sonar device, was nearing completion with no trace of the plane found.

- Search 95 percent complete -

"Bluefin-21 has now completed approximately 95 percent of the focused underwater search area. No contacts of interest have been found to date," said a statement from the search headquarters in Perth.
The UN s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requires countries to submit within 30 days a factual account of what is known so far in any air crash.
A Malaysian official had said Wednesday it was uncertain whether the government would release the report.
But Najib confirmed Malaysia would release it publicly after an "internal investigation team" examined it.
Asked on CNN whether that indicated it contained embarrassing revelations, Najib replied, "No, I don t think so."
Anthony Brickhouse, a member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators, said the report was unlikely to contain anything startling.
"This preliminary report is really just a run-down of what you know so far. And in this case, not much is known anyway," he said.
Malaysia has pledged that any data eventually recovered from the plane s "black box" will be publicly released.
It has said it is assembling what officials insist will be an independent international team operating under ICAO guidelines to conduct a comprehensive probe.
Australian and Malaysia authorities are mulling what to do next in the ocean search if the Bluefin-21 fails to find wreckage.
But they insist the search -- estimated to have cost at least $100 million and counting -- will go on, possibly using other assets including more powerful sonar devices.
Najib stressed that his government was not yet prepared to declare MH370 s passengers dead, while saying, "it is hard to imagine otherwise."
A relatives  organisation this week denounced a Malaysian official s suggestion that death certificates could soon be issued. The outraged families said that would be premature in the absence of any proof of what happened.

Both the government and rebel forces have been accused of committing war crimes.

NAIROBI (AFP) - As ethnic massacres in South Sudan spiral out of control and politicians lose their grip on rampaging militias, only a concerted international effort stands any chance of ending the four-month-old civil war, analysts say.
The past week has been described by a senior UN official as the "most bleak" in South Sudan s short history, with pro-government gunmen storming a UN base in an attempt to kill thousands of terrified civilians and rebels accused of conducting massacres in churches, mosques and hospitals.
According to the UN s top official in the war-torn nation, Toby Lanzer, the country has now descended into "a cycle of revenge" -- barely three years after the fanfare that accompanied its independence from Khartoum.
For John Prendergast, co-founder of the anti-genocide Enough Project, only a "high profile initiative of the international community" including the United States -- which was instrumental in helping South Sudan separate from Khartoum -- stands any chance of preventing a protracted conflict and more atrocities.
"If it s a low-key, under-the-radar begging operation, these parties are just going to laugh at it," he said.
"If you have a very serious, high level engagement that has senior representation in key countries with some level of past and present influence, that brings to bear that kind of pressure, then you ve got a chance," said Prendergast, a former Africa director for the National Security Council during Bill Clinton s presidency.
The war broke out on December 15 following a clash within the presidential guard and rapidly escalated as soldiers took sides with either President Salva Kiir or his sacked deputy, Riek Machar.
The conflict quickly took on an ethnic dimension, with Kiir drawing support from the ethnic Dinka community and Machar from his Nuer tribe. Thousands and possibly tens of thousands of people have died while over a million have been forced from their homes.
To further complicate matters on the ground, the notorious ethnic Nuer "White army" has joined the fray on the side of Machar s patchwork rebel force, neighbouring Uganda is backing Kiir while rival militias from neighbouring Sudan have reportedly been joining in.
Both the government and rebel forces have been accused of committing war crimes, including massacres, rape and child soldier recruitment, and Prendergast said concrete action on this could also be used as a way to halt the fighting.
"When you actually start freezing the assets, seizing the cars and the houses in Kenya and Ethiopia that are owned by most of these senior officials in government and the rebellion, when you start sending their kids home from schools... then it starts to get their attention," he said.
"We have both sides committing atrocities, so it s easy to say we re going to go after individuals on both sides. There s some level of even-handedness, with very specific targeted sanctions, very specific asset freezes."
Casie Copeland of the International Crisis Group, an international conflict resolution think-tank, said the South Sudanese currently have no intent to stop fighting -- even though they are paying lip service to peace talks being held in Ethiopia and signed a ceasefire in January.
"The two warring parties right now prefer to seek a solution on the battlefield rather than through peace talks," she said.
"Peace talks in Addis produced a ceasefire which was almost immediately violated, and right now we are seeing little commitment from either side to a negotiated solution. There needs to be concerted political action."
Ferdinand von Habsburg-Lothringen, a Swiss citizen working in South Sudan for 16 years and a former UN and government advisor, said the crisis was now as bad as the worst days of the decades-long civil war that preceded independence.
The impact of fighting has been "catastrophic", he said, warning that "the future of the world s newest country is as insecure as it has ever been". Aid agencies say more than a million people are at risk of famine.
"Humanitarian aid will be the sticking plaster over South Sudan s gaping wounds," he said, saying the country had been essentially left "unattended by a divisive and ineffective international community."
South Sudan s oil wealth is now being bitterly fought over by the government and rebels, but could provide a key to speed up any diplomatic initiative by drawing in major investor and big power China.
"For many Western countries, it s not a big enough revenue generator to be a factor, but for some of the eastern countries like China, India and Malaysia, given their deep involvement in the oil sector over the years, particularly China, oil is a major factor," said Prendergast.
"This is an opportunity for the United States and some other countries to deepen their engagement with Beijing to jointly work together to find solutions to bring leverage on the parties to find solutions to the conflict," he said.

Three other expeditions have already cancelled their plans to scale the 8,848-metre peak.


KATHMANDU (AFP) - Three major mountaineering companies joined others in quitting Everest citing fears of violence, safety concerns and tension at base camp, deepening a crisis Thursday on the world's highest peak sparked by the death of 16 guides last week.
International expeditions said they were shutting down operations on the mountain, as a Nepalese government delegation was set to fly to Everest base camp to try to cool tensions and save this year's climbing season.
Sherpas distraught over the death of their colleagues and demanding more compensation and other benefits have threatened to boycott the season after the avalanche on Friday, the worst ever on the world's highest peak.
Leading US mountaineering company International Mountain Guides said the main route through the Khumbu Icefall, where the avalanche struck a team of guides carrying equipment for their clients, was too dangerous.
"The icefall route is currently unsafe for climbing without repairs by the icefall doctors (highly-skilled guides who fix ropes and repair ladders up the mountain), who will not be able to resume their work this season," IMG said in a statement.
Announcing it was also cancelling its expedition, US company RMI Expeditions said "the risks outweigh the possibility of success".
Peak Freaks, led by Canadian mountaineer Tim Rippel, said "the route in my professional opinion is NOT safe" saying there was a real threat of further avalanches.
"In addition 300+ sherpas have put their names on an organized protest to not climb in respect of the recent deaths, why wouldn't we listen to them?" Rippel said in a post online.
Describing a tense environment at base camp, he said sherpas keen to close down the climbing season were threatening violence against those who wanted to continue. Mountaineering companies and officials were also pressuring guides to stay on the mountain, he said.
"It's gotten too messy...now that we have an army, police and angry sherpas staging at base camp, it's time to go home," Rippel wrote.


- Govt to work out deal -

Three other expeditions have already cancelled their plans to scale the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) peak, and the latest announcements throw the climbing season into further disarray.
Under fire over its handling of the disaster, the Nepal government is desperate to avoid a shutdown of the season that could lead to messy refund claims and a huge loss of revenue for the impoverished country.
A team of government officials was expected to arrive at base camp Thursday and attempt to work out a deal with the sherpas.
Sherpas on Tuesday threatened to abandon the season, after issuing a string of demands to the government, including higher compensation for the dead and injured, an increase in insurance payments and a welfare fund.
The avalanche underlined the huge risks borne by sherpas who carve out the routes and carry gear up the mountain for their foreign clients. The tragedy also reignited debate about whether the government does enough for sherpas who are key to the industry's success.
The government has offered to set up a relief fund for injured guides using up to five percent of fees paid by climbers, while increasing life insurance payments by 50 percent, both amounts falling short of the sherpas' demands.
The government, which has earned $3.6 million this year from Everest climbing fees alone, has issued permits to 734 people, including 400 guides, for 32 expeditions this season.

The United States has topped Britain in recent years as the largest overseas market for Bollywoood

  - Bollywood this week throws its premier awards event for the first time in the United States, which has quietly become the leading overseas market for India s prolific film industry.
The International Indian Film Academy on Wednesday kicks off four days of festivities in Tampa culminating in an awards ceremony Saturday that will bring out Bollywood s glitterati and Hollywood legend John Travolta.
While Bollywood is known for its extravagant song-and-dance routines, its expansion into the United States has been more understated. Indian films are increasingly shown in mainstream US cinemas which set aside specific screens and times.
The United States has topped Britain in recent years as the largest overseas market for Bollywood, fueled by demand from the three million-strong Indian American community and the growing ease of distributing movies through the digital format.
"Dhoom 3," the latest installment of a thriller series which is nominated for best picture at the Tampa awards, broke US records for Indian cinema after it was released last year.
Set largely in Chicago, "Dhoom 3" grossed more than $8 million in the United States and Canada, roughly on par with "Before Midnight," the second sequel to the US romantic classic "Before Sunrise."
Indian cinema s growth can easily fly beneath the radar in the United States, which has by far the world s largest box office and is thoroughly dominated by domestic fare. India, in turn, has the largest output of films at more than 1,100 a year.
But Gitesh Pandya, a US-based consultant for Bollywood studios, said that Indian cinema had innate advantages as it has a consistent audience of Indian Americans who are often well-educated and generally do not need expensive promotional campaigns to woo them to the movies.
Indian films that just five years ago would have opened at 80 to 85 screens in the United States now start in more than 200 theaters including in smaller cities where cinemas are happy to fill seats however they can, Pandya said.
"It s incredible growth. Theaters that five years ago would never think about playing one of these movies are now anxious to get the latest Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan movie," Pandya said, referring to two stars whose films are considered relatively high-brow in Bollywood.



Pandya, who also manages the website boxofficeguru.com, said that India was the only foreign country with a self-sustaining film industry in the United States, as European, Latin American or other international movies rely on Hollywood or art-house distributors to select and distribute them.
"India is the only one that, 12 months a year, has films that come in and play in theaters here in the US," Pandya said.
In addition to Bollywood films, which are in Hindi, US cinemas regularly screen movies in other Indian languages such as Tamil and Telugu.
Despite the growth, no Bollywood film has won over mainstream US audiences and the annual awards -- always held outside of India to show the industry s global reach -- had shied away from the potentially massive market.
In hopes of crossing over to a non-South Asian audience, the International Indian Film Academy will kick off its Tampa weekend with a public party Wednesday in a park aimed at introducing US audiences to India s culture and film.
Prominent Indian actress Vidya Balan, who will appear at the awards, saw hope in her experience serving last year on the Cannes Film Festival jury.
She said she shared DVDs of Indian movies with her co-jurors, who included directors Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee, and that they quickly realized that Indian cinema offered more than formulaic songs and dances.
"People are slowing waking up to the reality that there is something universal in Indian films," she told AFP.