Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Looking West, Russia Beefs Up Spending on Global Media Giants

Russia global media

Despite a free-falling ruble and a wealth of other economic woes, the Russian government has announced a substantial increase in funding for state-run media outlets, a move analysts linked with the Kremlin's desire to win sympathies abroad.
The measure — which was stipulated in Russia's federal budget for 2015-17 — comes at a high-stakes period for Russian media.
Moscow has made clear its intent to broadcast its own narrative to international audiences, in a bid to counteract Western media outlets' largely negative coverage of Russian affairs.
Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers are grappling with legislation to diminish the presence of foreigners in media on its own soil. The State Duma passed in its first reading Tuesday a bill limiting foreign ownership of Russian media assets to 20 percent, a significant decrease from the current existing ceiling of 50 percent.
INC News, 23/09/2014

La Perla Lingerie Elevates Brand to a New Level of Luxury

Ecco Frecciarossa 1000, 2 ore e 20 minuti tra Roma e Milano

Kazakhstan among world's 10 most suicidal countries - WHO

http://www.inform.kz/eng/article/2699529

Kazakhstan counts among the most suicidal countries in the world, director of research center Molodezh (Youth) Zhanar Bukanova has revealed today.
"According to the World Health Organization, suicide rate in Kazakhstan is 15 per 100,000 people. Actually, Kazakhstan is ranked 10th among the world's most suicidal countries," Ms Bukanova said at the extended session of the social and cultural development committee under the Majilis, lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament in Astana.
Global suicide statistics, released by UNICEF and WHO, shows that Kazakhstan had the highest rate of suicide among teenagers in 2010-2013.

"High suicide rate among teens is an acute problem for Kazakhstan nowadays," Z. Bukanova added.

INC News, 23/09/2014

Protests erupt in Moscow over Ukraine crisis

Protests in Russian

Several thousand people in Moscow took to the streets Sunday to protest the war in Ukraine and how the Russian government has handled the crisis there, CNN has learned.Separately, a smaller anti-U.S. protest took place in front of the U.S. Embassy, according to Russian news outlet ITAR-TASS. Several people carried signs that read, "Obama, keep your hands off Ukraine," the news agency said. It's unclear if anyone was detained.
INC News, 23/09/2014-via BBC

U.S. strikes Khorasan Group, ISIS

700 Years of Togetherness: Skeletons Still Holding Hands

A love long 700 years

The skeletal remains of two lovebirds have been uncovered after being locked in a romantic embrace for the past 700 years.
Archaeologists found the couple holding hands in an earthen grave during the excavation of a "lost" chapel in Leicestershire, England, researchers reported Thursday.
"We have seen similar skeletons before from Leicester, where a couple has been buried together in a single grave," Vicki Score, University of Leicester Archaeological Services project manager, said in a statement.
Double graves are not that unusual. But it's surprising that the two bodies were buried at the so-called "lost" Chapel of St. Morrell, only recently discovered by a local historian and a team of researchers, instead of at the local church. 
"The main question we find ourselves asking is, why were they buried up there? There is a perfectly good church in Hallaton," Score said. "This leads us to wonder if the chapel could have served as some sort of special place of burial at the time."
INC News, 23/09/2014

Over 4 Million Immigrants Live in Russia Illegally, Official Says

Illegal immigrants

There are currently more than 4.3 million illegal immigrants living and working in Russia, a Federal Migration Service official said Monday.
Anatoly Fomenko, the deputy head of the agency, said those violating immigration law were mostly young people lacking fluency in Russian, RIA Novosti reported.
Most of the illegal immigrants are citizens of CIS countries who took advantage of visa-free entry, he said.
"The illegal immigrants are primarily comprised of those who legally arrived from CIS countries but overstayed the 90-day limit. Currently, there are more than 4.3 million of such people," Fomenko said during a Federation Council seminar, according to RIA Novosti.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 13.5 million foreigners have visited Russia, Fomenko said, noting that there are currently 11.8 million foreigners on Russian soil. It was unclear whether that number included illegal immigrants. (MT)

INC News, 23/09/2014

Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett promote collaborative Jazz album