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Jolie Visits Baghdad To Discuss Iraqi Refugees

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 8, 2008

Note to world leaders: Next time you need instant access to foreign dignitaries and top military brass, forget the usual protocols. Just send in Angelina Jolie.

Hollywood's globe-trotting leading lady swooped into Baghdad on Thursday to highlight the plight of Iraqi refugees, gaining an audience with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the American Embassy said.

On her mission as a U.N. goodwill ambassador, Jolie also met with Iraqi migration officials to stress that there needs to be a coherent plan for the more than 2 million internally displaced Iraqis who are beginning to trickle back to their homes amid a recent lull in violence.

"There's lots of goodwill and lots of discussion, but there seems to be just a lot of talk at the moment," Jolie said in excerpts of an interview aired on CNN.

Winehouse Visa To Grammys Denied

Amy Winehouse will not attend this year's Grammy Awards because her request for a visa was denied, but she will perform by satellite at Sunday's ceremony in Los Angeles.

Winehouse and her acclaimed "Back to Black" album are nominated for Grammys in six categories. She will perform material from the album, an executive close to the Grammys told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The Outside Organization, which counts the troubled singer among its clients, said in an e-mail that Winehouse - who shot to fame with the autobiographical single "Rehab" - was disappointed that her request for a visa had been turned down by the U.S. Embassy.

"Amy has been progressing well since entering a rehabilitation clinic two weeks ago and although disappointed with the decision has accepted the ruling and will be concentrating on her recovery," the Outside Organization said.

Winehouse's potent blend of blues, jazz, pop and soul has won praise from critics and fans, but her chaotic personal life has increasingly upstaged her music. Concerned family members regularly beg Winehouse to seek help in letters splashed across the pages of British tabloid newspapers and magazines.

Last month, The Sun newspaper ran still images from a video that it claimed showed Winehouse inhaling fumes from a small pipe. The images were said to have been filmed during a party at her London home.

McMillan Honored For Insightful Books

Terry McMillan has been honored with a lifetime achievement award from Essence magazine for her best-selling, irreverent novels about the everyday struggles of modern American black women.

"No single writer today has documented the African-American experience from a contemporary black women's point of view like Terry McMillan," said Patrik Henry Bass, a senior editor at Essence for books and art.

McMillan's best-known books are "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and "Waiting to Exhale." Both were made into movies.

Today's Birthdays

Former ABC News anchor Ted Koppel is 68. Actor Nick Nolte is 67. Comedian Robert Klein is 66. Actress Mary Steenburgen is 55. Author John Grisham is 53. Rock singer Vince Neil (Motley Crue) is 47. Actor Gary Coleman is 40. Actor Seth Green is 34.

Source: The Associated Press

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