George and Amal Clooney on justice mission for women and gay people

EDINBURGH - Celebrity couple George and Amal Clooney said on Thursday they wanted to use their star power to push for justice globally for women, children, LGBT+ people, religious minorities, and journalists.

The 57-year-old Hollywood actor said some countries were using courts to do "really rotten things" and it was important to "shine a light" on where this was happening.

The couple's Clooney Foundation for Justice, set up in 2016, plans to this year launch, TrialWatch, a project to monitor trials and create an index to track which countries are using courtrooms to oppress minorities and government critics.

Amal Clooney, an international human rights lawyer, said it was important to expose injustices and the countries using courts to target vulnerable people, human rights defenders, and press freedom.

"We now have the highest number of journalists in jail in the world since records began," she told a charity gala organized by the People's Postcode Lottery in Edinburgh.

The Clooneys, who married in 2014, said they were both committed to using their fame to raise awareness about human rights abuses and corruption.

Amal Clooney, 41, said her job was less glamorous than it might seem as it mainly involved piling through vast amounts of paperwork but their fame could be used to their advantage.

"It helps when we want to engage governments to act or business leaders," said the British-Lebanese lawyer.

Her actor husband also played down the glamour of fame, joking about being the father of one-year-old twins, but acknowledged that he had always been determined to use the public spotlight to do good.

"I didn't grow up wealthy," he said. "If you end up getting lucky, you should share that luck."

The Clooneys were in Scotland to collect an award from the People's Postcode Lottery for their humanitarian work.

Britain's People's Postcode Lottery is one of several charity lotteries set up in Europe since 1989 by the Netherlands-based social enterprise Novamedia.

The lottery awards cash prizes and also donates about 32 percent of sales to charity, which has totaled more than 400 million pounds ($530 million) since 2005.

The organization has given money to some of George Clooney's other charities and has also made a grant to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters.

($1 = 0.7602 pounds)

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Clooneys donate $500,000 to student gun reform march

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - Hollywood star George Clooney and his human rights lawyer wife Amal on Monday pledged $500,000 to help fund a student march on Washington, giving a huge boost to what is considered an unprecedented youth mobilization against gun violence.

The "March for Our Lives" is scheduled to take place on March 24, with sister rallies planned across the country demanding that US Congress come up with effective legislation to address the epidemic of gun violence in the United States.

It comes after a 19-year-old armed with a semi-automatic rifle killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida last week, and is being organized by surviving students.

The teenagers, who have grown up with mass shootings at US schools, have vowed to make the tragedy a turning point in America's deadlocked debate on gun control.

"Amal and I are so inspired by the courage and eloquence of these young men and women from Stoneman Douglas High School," Clooney said in a statement.

"Our family will be there on March 24 to stand side by side with this incredible generation of young people from all over the country," he added.

"In the name of our children Ella and Alexander, we're donating $500,000 to help pay for this groundbreaking event. Our children's lives depend on it."

'OVERWHELMED'

The pledge from the Clooneys, one of the biggest A-list couples on the planet, who announced the birth of their twins in London last June, comes after other celebrities have called for greater gun controls since the Florida shooting.

"We want to express extreme gratitude for the amazing donation that George Clooney and his family have made," tweeted the Never Again account representing survivors of the Florida shooting.

"We are overwhelmed with the support, and we can't wait to march."

US Congress is deadlocked on the gun debate, accomplishing nothing even after last October's killing of 58 people by a gunman in Las Vegas who had amassed 47 firearms to commit the worst mass shooting in recent US history.

The White House says President Donald Trump is supportive of efforts to improve background checks for gun purchases, but many want far more deep-seated reforms.

The students organizing the March 24 rally say they are fed up "waiting for someone else" to take action to stop the US epidemic of mass school shootings, and are demanding a "comprehensive and effective bill" in Congress to address gun violence.

"Politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns," their mission statement said. "Every kid in this country now goes to school wondering if this day might be their last. We live in fear." 

"Change is coming. And it starts now, inspired by and led by the kids who are our hope for the future. Their young voices will be heard."

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Amal and George Clooney welcome boy and girl twins

LOS ANGELES - Amal Clooney on Tuesday gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, the first children for the international human rights lawyer and her movie star spouse.

"This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives. Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine," George Clooney's publicist Stan Rosenfield said in an email.

He added cheekily, "George is sedated and should recover in a few days."

Amal Clooney, 39, and the 56-year-old Oscar-winning star of films like "Ocean's Eleven" and "Three Kings" married in Italy in 2014, making them one of the world's biggest celebrity couples.

Rosenfield did not say where the twins were born but the couple appear to have been spending much of their time recently in England, where they have one of several homes.

The couple adopted a low profile during the pregnancy, keeping the news private for months before it was confirmed in February by the actor's close friend, Matt Damon.

Amal Clooney largely continued her work as a human rights lawyer, addressing the United Nations in March and urging the international community to investigate crimes committed by Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Nevertheless, celebrity news media speculated for months about the sex of the twins, where they would be born and in which country they will be raised.

On Tuesday, social media lit up with congratulatory messages and "Ella and Alexander" was among the top trending topics on Twitter in the United States.

Many contributors praised the choice of names as a refreshingly normal departure from a trend that has seen celebrity babies given names like Apple, Audio, Bronx, North West and Rocket.

"Good lord, the Clooneys have given their twins lovely ordinary names. Shocking. And they call themselves celebrities...," wrote British journalist Nicola Jane Swinney on Twitter.

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres posted a Twitter message saying, "Congratulations, George and Amal, or as I’m now calling you, Ocean’s Four."

Congratulations also came from actress Mia Farrow and U.S. journalist Katie Couric.

People magazine reported on Tuesday that former U.S. President Barack Obama paid a long, private visit with the Clooneys at their home in the countryside west of London on May 27.

George Clooney canceled a visit to Armenia for a humanitarian event this past weekend, saying in a message to organizers that "if I came there and my wife had twins while I was there, I could never come home."

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Additional reporting by Melissa Fares in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Lisa Shumaker)

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Amal Clooney pregnant with twins: family friend

Amal Clooney, the prominent Lebanese-British human rights lawyer and wife of American actor George, is pregnant with twins, a family friend said on Wednesday.

"She's pregnant with twins," the friend said, asking to remain anonymous and without providing any further details about the sexes of the babies or due date.

The 39-year-old rights lawyer and 55-year-old Hollywood star tied the knot in Venice in 2014.

Amal's clients include former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

After her wedding, she threw her legal clout and celebrity behind a series of high-profile cases including Britain's possible restitution of the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

She defended Al-Jazeera reporter Mohamed Fahmy after he was jailed in Egypt and was part of the legal team for former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed following his toppling in 2012.

She has also defended the cause of young Yazidi women who were abused by fighters of the Islamic State jihadist group.

Amal was born in Lebanon before her family moved to Britain when she was three years old.

Actor, director and producer George was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993, before his role in hit television series "ER" propelled him to international stardom.

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The ultimate Golden Globes fashion accessory: Amal Clooney

LOS ANGELES - Amid a wave of nominees and stars wearing red and white, all eyes were on the new Mrs. George Clooney as she made her red carpet debut in a striking black Christian Dior gown at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.

Amal Clooney, who married Clooney in a lavish Italian ceremony last year, offset her one-shouldered flowing gown with her own white opera gloves as she accompanied her husband, who will receive a lifetime achievement award on Sunday.

The human rights lawyer added a "Je Suis Charlie" pin on her purse while Clooney wore one on his lapel, in support of the victims of the attack on French satirical newspaper "Charlie Hebdo" last week.

Since getting engaged, Amal Clooney has earned praise for her high fashion picks, opting for French, Italian and British designers and becoming a staple on best dressed lists. Her gloves on Sunday set off their own viral Twitter trend, #GoldenGloves.

"Amal is the big 'get' in the fashion world right now," said Eric Wilson, fashion news director at InStyle fashion magazine.

"Wearing gloves on a red carpet, as simple as it sounds, is a very dramatic move," he added.

White was the chosen hue for the chilly night.

Nominee Emily Blunt spun a Grecian twist on the classic white dress in a draped Michael Kors gown, while Kate Hudson opted for a flesh-baring Versace fitted dress with cutouts.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus kept a sleek look in one-shouldered Narciso Rodriguez, while Rosamund Pike divided critics with her white Vera Wang dress with cutouts.

Sienna Miller in Miu Miu and a pregnant Keira Knightley in Chanel opted for white with floral prints.

Red, often regarded as a risky choice for stars for fear of blending into the carpet, was featured in all silhouettes, from Helen Mirren in a fitted Dolce and Gabbana embellished gown to "Girls" stars Lena Dunham in a backless satin Zac Posen and Allison Williams in a strapless sequined Armani Prive number.

Viola Davis won praise for her fitted strapless Donna Karan embellished red gown, while Taylor Schilling opted for a deep red Ralph Lauren halterneck gown with a flowing skirt.

But welcome pops of color amid the red and white came from nominees such as Amy Adams, who opted for a periwinkle Versace one-shouldered gown, and Naomi Watts in a yellow Gucci column accessorized with a Bulgari snake necklace.

Maggie Gyllenhaal opted for a dusky pink strapless dress and Anna Kendrick channeled her "Into The Woods" character Cinderella in a blush pink embellished Monique Lhuillier gown.

Last year's red carpet darling Lupita Nyong'o stood out in a purple Giambattista Valli gown covered in ruffled flower motifs, which Wilson said led the trend for texture tonight.

"There's a real movement in 3-D texture in fashion, and it looks like Lupita is wearing fireworks," he said. "She wears bright colors so beautifully, it's quite stunning."

Jessica Chastain led the metallic trend in a bronze Versace plunging number, while Reese Witherspoon went for all out glamour in silver sequined fitted Calvin Klein.

Jennifer Lopez shimmered in a plunging silver Zuhair Murad dress while best actress nominee Julianne Moore wore a gun-metal Givenchy gown.

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