Oscar glitzy gala goes technicolour

 LOS ANGELES: Lady Gaga sported the Tiffany Diamond around her neck and Glenn Close wore 40 pounds of gold dress to the Oscars. Charlize Theron rocked a bob in transformative dark brown and Jennifer Lopez was fit for battle in a head-to-toe mirror mosaic on a mighty silver dress.

Hollywood's Fashion show on Sunday in Los Angeles went technicolour and soft, ruffly and classic. It showed off pink and red, white and black, all in plenty of tulle, chiffon, crepe and velvet.

Theron donned Dior in dusty periwinkle, a color called "unexpected" by People's style and beauty director, Andrea Lavinthal. Regina King "looked so elegant in her perfectly-tailor white gown" by Oscar de la Renta, and Lopez took Lavinthal's best-dressed spot.

Some highlights as the awards season comes to a close:

LADY GAGA

Her platinum locks were high in a side-swept updo. Her Alexander McQueen gown had an Old Hollywood feel, with long gloves to match. But it was the hefty yellow bauble around her neck that stole her look.

Weighing in at 128.54 carats, the 142-year-old diamond from a South Africa mine is one of the world's largest yellow diamonds and rarely worn. In fact, it was only the third time it has been worn and the first time it has appeared at a major award ceremony and on a red carpet.

"From Lady Gaga debuting Tiffany's most precious diamond to Charlize Theron dripping herself in Bulgari earrings, necklaces and bracelets, bling is most certainly back," said Joyann King, executive digital editor for Harper's Bazaar.

Gaga's diamond was previously worn in 1957 and by Audrey Hepburn in 1961 publicity photos for "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

Gaga was more Old Hollywood than her usual shock-flash.

"She really toned down the theatrics during award season but not at the expense of her style," said Channing Hargrove, a Fashion news writer for the millennial-focused site Refinery29.com.

PARADE OF PINK

It came in a variety of shades, from a honeysuckle pink lace gown by Jenny Packham worn by declutter guru Marie Kondo (she has a Netflix series) to the tiered confection donned by Kacey Musgraves, by Giambattista Valli Couture.

King said Gemma Chan's voluminous bright pink Valentino Couture dress with a high ruffle neck "stole every Fashion editor's heart." And, bonus, it had pockets.

But Avril Graham, executive Fashion and beauty editor for Harper's, said Chan's large and loose dress proved that hugging every curve "does not always a successful Oscar red carpet gown make."

King said Musgraves' gown "may have had one too many ruffles to be taken seriously for years to come."

Julia Roberts wore bright pink to present the best picture award.

Overall, major pink gowns, including Angela Bassett in custom Reem Acra, were showstoppers.

Associated Press

World powers have called on the nations to de-escalate the tensions gripping the contested region since a Feb.14 suicide bombing killed over 40 Indian paramilitary troops in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

India responded with a pre-dawn airstrike on Tuesday inside Pakistan, the first such raid since the two nations' 1971 war over territory that later became Bangladesh.

The situation then escalated further with Wednesday's aerial skirmish, which saw Pakistan say it shot down two Indian aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan-held part of Kashmir and the other in India-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan later aired a video of a man it identified as the Indian pilot.

India acknowledged one of its MiG-21s, a Soviet-era fighter jet, was "lost" in skirmishes with Pakistan.

India's Ministry of External Affairs said late Wednesday that it "strongly objected to Pakistan's vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force," and that it expects his immediate and safe return.

India also said it shot down a Pakistani warplane, something Islamabad denied.

Both Indian and Pakistani officials reported small-arms fire and shelling along the Kashmir region into Thursday morning. There were no reported casualties.

Authorities in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir closed all schools and educational institutions in the region and are urged parents to keep their children at home amid mounting tension with neighbouring India.

Pakistan's airspace remained closed for a second day Thursday, snarling air traffic.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal acknowledged his country received a "dossier" from India about the Feb.14 attack. He refused to provide details about the information that New Delhi has shared.

World leaders weighing in on the tension included President Donald Trump, who began remarks at a news conference on Thursday in Vietnam after meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by focusing on India and Pakistan.

"I think hopefully that's going to be coming to an end," Trump said, without elaborating.

"It's been going on for a long time - decades and decades. There's a lot of dislike, unfortunately, so we've been in the middle trying to help them both out, see if we can get some organization and some peace, and I think probably that's going to be happening."

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also said Adel Al Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs, planned to come to Islamabad with an urgent message from the kingdom's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

Modi, in his first remarks since the pilot's capture, gave a rallying speech ahead of elections in the coming months.

"Our defense forces are serving gallantly at the border," he told tens of thousands gathered across the country to listen to him in a videoconference from New Delhi.

"The country is facing challenging times and it will fight, live, work and win unitedly."

Just weeks before general elections are due in India, the head of Modi's party in India's Karnataka state, BS Yeddyurappa, said India's pre-dawn airstrikes in Pakistan on Tuesday would help the party at the polls.

Associated Press