Sunday, September 21, 2014

Lancement réussi de la capsule Dragon vers l'ISS

Video shows vet storm White House with knife

Cop: I believe Matthew was last to see Graham

Egypt's last Jews: 'We are dying' - BBC News

Flamenco: Last of the castanet makers? BBC News

Russia's Banks Make 'Colossal' Efforts to Find Funding as Sanctions Bite

The Russian Banks

The head of Russia's biggest lender, Sberbank, said Friday that the bank was doing a "colossal" amount of work to re-orient itself toward domestic funding sources, as Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its annexation of Crimea and support of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine begin to hit Russia's banking sector.
Other top Russian bankers at an investment forum near the Black Sea warned that Asian money could not replace the loss of U.S. and European capital markets.
"Of course sanctions have had an impact on business conditions. … In the finance and banking sector we are feeling them in full. Practically all external markets are now closed, and we are now conducting a colossal amount of work to switch over to internal sources of funding," Sberbank president German Gref said, the Prime economic news agency reported.
Russian banks will need to refinance about $57 billion of external debt this year and next, according to estimates by Standard and Poor's credit rating agency.
State-owned Sberbank was sanctioned by the U.S. earlier this month and is banned from buying or selling new bonds, equity or other financial instruments with a maturity of more than 30 days in Europe.
INC News, 21/09/2014

Opera di Roma, il gran rifiuto di Muti

Il grande rifiuto di Riccardo Muti

Riccardo Muti rinuncia alle due opere Aida e Nozze di Figaro in cartellone per prossima stagione del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. Il maestro lo annuncia in una lettera al Costanzi nella quale sottolinea: «Non ci sono le condizioni per poter garantire quella serenità per me necessaria al buon esito delle rappresentazioni».    
Nella lettera, riferisce il sovrintendente del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma Carlo Fuortes, il Maestro Muti motiva la sua decisione con il «perdurare delle problematiche emerse durante gli ultimi tempi». Aggiunge «che, purtroppo, nonostante tutti i miei sforzi per contribuire alla vostra causa, non ci sono le condizioni per poter garantire quella serenità per me necessaria al buon esito delle rappresentazioni». Inoltre scrive che «in questo momento intendo dedicarmi, in Italia, soprattutto ai giovani musicisti dell’Orchestra Cherubini da me fondata».  
Muti sottolinea di aver preso la decisione «con grandissimo dispiacere, dopo lunghi e tormentati pensieri» e ricorda a Fuortes i «tanti reciproci sfoghi sull’argomento, la tristezza e la delusione di fronte a molti episodi vissuti». Concludendo che «è stato comunque costruttivo cercare insieme di lavorare per il meglio!!». 

INC News, 21/09/2014

Cape Fear Actress Polly Bergen Dies Aged 84

New Actrice passed
Emmy-winning actress Polly Bergen, who played the terrorised wife in the original Cape Fear film and more recently starred in Desperate Housewives, has died aged 84.
The star died at her home in Southbury, Connecticut, from natural causes, surrounded by family and close friends, her publicist Judy Katz said. Bergen became a household name after recording albums and playing leading roles in films, stage musicals and television dramas.
She also hosted her own variety series, was a popular game show panellist, and founded a thriving beauty products company that bore her name and made her millions.
Bergen was 20 and already an established singer when she starred with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in her first movie, At War With The Army. She joined them in two more comedies, That's My Boy and The Stooge.
Bergen won an Emmy in 1958 portraying the tragic singer Helen Morgan on the famed anthology series Playhouse 90.
INC News, 21/09/2014

Briton's Body Found After Mexico Hurricane

Briton's body found

The body of a British woman who went missing while travelling on a yacht off the coast of Mexico has been found. The Foreign Office confirmed one Briton had died after a search operation was launched earlier this week for couple Paul Whitehouse and Simone Wood in the aftermath of Hurricane Odile. The pair, from London and Wolverhampton, were reported missing on Friday after their yacht overturned in the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez. The couple are thought to have been living in La Paz, Mexico, for a year.
Mr Whitehouse, who is believed to be a scuba instructor, is reportedly still missing. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the death of a British national, reported missing along with another British national earlier this week off the coast of Mexico.
INC News, 21/09/2014

Israeli film ‘Next to Her’ takes top prize in Kazakhstan

The award was presented to director Asaf Korman by Kazakh actor Assanali Ashimov, who was also president of the international jury. “Next to Her” centres around the relationship between two sisters. After her mentally disabled sibling Gabby goes into a day care centre, Rachel enters into a relationship with a man, but her complicated life leaves her unable to lead a normal relationship with anyone but her sister, leading the protagonists into a twisted threesome. The film was written by the director’s wife Liron, based on personal experience. “When she told me about the story it was very clear it would be my first feature film and we made this film with a lot of love, as a couple”, said director Asaf Korman.