http://eng.mediaport.info News of Kharkov Ukraine and the Region: on-the-fly, high-grade and objective en-us Copyright 2006 mediaport.info Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:00:01 +0200 admin@mediaport.info http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4228.shtml world world Nelson Mandela, the man credited with ending apartheid in South Africa, has marked his 90th birthday by calling for the rich to do more for the poor. "If you are poor, you are not likely to live long," he said at his village house in Eastern Cape province for a birthday interview, as BBC reports. He is expected to spend the day at home with his family. His predecessor as president, FW de Klerk, described him as one of the greatest figures of the last century. Mr Mandela was jailed for 27 years for his ANC activities but went on to become the country's first black president in 1994. Since stepping down in 1999, he has become South Africa's highest-profile ambassador, campaigning against HIV/Aids and helping to secure his country's right to host the 2010 football World Cup. In 2004, at the age of 85, Mr Mandela retired from public life to spend more time with his family and friends and engage in "quiet reflection". On Friday, appearing before reporters, he said: "There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty". In an earlier radio broadcast, he said he was honoured that people had chosen to celebrate the birthday "of a retired old man who no longer has power or influence". Many of those who have worked with Nelson Mandela and had a close friendship with him over the years say that behind the adulation he inspires there is a very human and often extremely private figure, the BBC's Mike Wooldridge reports. Fellow Robben Island prisoner Mac Maharaj told our correspondent Mr Mandela was truly an icon. He reduced a veteran white police officer to tears on his inauguration day when he walked over to him, shook his hand and told him "today you have become our police". But Mr Maharaj argues that the event that sheds most light on Nelson Mandela's character was the killing of the popular ANC leader Chris Hani in 1993. Mr Maharaj believes that if Nelson Mandela had called for an insurrection in response it would have been unstoppable but, instead, he went on television to call for calm and commitment to democracy. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:00:57 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/sports/2008/4227.shtml sports region Classical parachute activity competitions have been held in Kharkiv. For the first time in the world a new element – front somersault at 2200 meters’ height – has been added. Classical parachute activity is a double-event. The participants compete in accuracy of landing and style, where judges estimate how fast and correct elements are made. Inaccuracy is punished with additional seconds. Natural spiral turns plus back somersault – the set and variants of the rotation haven’t changed in years. Classical paratroop activity hasn’t developed, the paratroop sports international committee under International Aeronautical Federation has added considerable changes to the program for more than 20 years, say one of the judges Valentyn Plokhoy. It was his idea to refresh the program. The novelty – is the front somersault. The competitions in accuracy are novelty too – landing simultaneously with two legs on two devices fixing the results. New elements are not part of the obligatory program, as the organizing committee says. ‘So far’ - they add with hope. They plan to send the video of these competitions to IAF and use it in another way – to persuade colleagues to renew classical paratroop activity. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:42:36 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/ukraine/2008/4226.shtml ukraine region Because of the last night rain a donjon – the main tower of the national monument of architecture Chembalo fortress collapsed. Balaklava news website reports of this. Last night, according to branch manager “Chembalo Fortress” of the national reserve Chersonese Mycola Olekseyenko, donjon laying came off ad dragged a part of the wall and the dome of the tower. Supervisor of the archeological expedition in Karazin KhNU in Balaklava Serhiy Dyachkov said that the tower’s collapse is the “first signal for those who is responsible for monuments preservation. The fortress was built by natives of Italian Genoa in XIVth century. The ruins of the fortress with quite preserved donjon have remained up to these days. Three years ago the reconstruction of the tower began: there have been framing scaffolds around it till this spring. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:54:40 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/society/2008/4225.shtml society region 57-year-old woman has become mother in a Kyyiv maternity hospital. She delivered a boy. Doctors say that the lying-in went successfully: both mother and child Andrey feel wonderful. The caesarean section has been applied. The father is of the same age with the mother. He was in a neighbouring ward during the delivery, as Segodnya paper reports. 57-year-old birthing mother without any complications managed to go through pregnancy. She came to maternity hospital herself. However doctors note that the woman went in for sports, she hasn’t smoked or drunk. Gynecologists still claim that the risk to give birth was very great. The oldest birthing mother in the world – she is 67-year-old – gave birth to two boys last year. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:37:03 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4224.shtml world world Imagine you are an Olympic athlete who has spent most of your life training towards what could be your one shot at a gold medal. A finely tuned training programme has enabled you to acclimatise to conditions you are unaccustomed to, such as heat or altitude, as BBC reports. But on the big day there is one aspect you have no control over - the quality of the air you are breathing in. BBC tests suggest the level of pollution in Beijing is currently well outside international air quality standards. It has been reported that the International Olympic Committee is being flooded with applications from athletes to use asthma medication during the Games. But is this an over-reaction or can pollution really affect an athlete's chances? John Brewer, performance director at the Lucozade Sport Science Academy in Slough, says it absolutely can but the extent of the effect will depend on the event. The outdoor competitors least at risk of suffering from the effects pollution will be the sprinters who barely take a breath before the race is over and others doing short sharp intensive events such as the shot put and javelin. Athletes competing for longer lengths of time, such as rowers and medium distance runners may notice the effects more, he says. And those playing team sports should not be forgotten - hockey players for example have short bursts of activity from which they need to recover quickly. But competitors who should be most worried are those doing endurance races, such as cycling and most notably the marathon. "Marathon runners take about 40 to 50 breaths per minute and there is a real need for oxygen to be transported to the muscles. "In normal conditions oxygen makes up about 21% of the air, if that's compromised, because the very complex transport process in the lungs is compromised, there will be less oxygen getting to the muscles. "Add in the heat and the humidity and there could be some major implications," says Brewer. No one has done a study comparing the effects of say running a marathon in clean air and in a polluted environment. But what evidence there is suggests there will be an impact. "If the pollution is still at the level that has been recorded by the BBC on the day of a distance endurance event then it is almost certain that performance times will be affected," Brewer says. "The organisers have to take a responsible attitude to endurance events and be brave enough to change the start time or withdraw athletes if needed - they need to protect the health and wellbeing of the competitors." The BBC has measured the levels of tiny particles (known as PM10) in the air for 10 minutes at the same time each day. Research shows the size of the particles enables them to get right down into the part of the lungs where oxygen is transferred into the bloodstream. Once there they cause irritation and inflammation in healthy people and are liable to exacerbate existing conditions such as asthma. High levels of PM10 have also been directly linked with higher mortality rates by the World Health Organisation. Professor Sir Malcolm Green, vice president of the British Lung Foundation said it was important to measure air pollution over 24 hours because it can be affected by rush hour traffic or weather conditions. "But if the 24-hour average for PM10 is 100 or 150, it is unacceptably high and it would be highly undesirable for people to be doing marathons with that level of pollution. "And particularly for Olympic athletes who are pushing their heart and lungs to the absolute maximum." He said closing the roads before the start of the Olympics, as was planned by the Beijing authorities should help. Such pollution can cause greater problems in those with underlying respiratory conditions. Paula Radcliffe, who is still hoping to compete despite recovering from a stress fracture, is one athlete who famously suffers from asthma. "Anything that causes irritation of the lungs is likely to exacerbate an existing condition," Sir Malcolm warned. For their part the British Olympic Association is increasingly confident that the air quality in Beijing is improving. They have warned athletes that the heat and humidity are likely to have more of an impact on performance and have taken expert advice on how to mitigate the effects. Brewer adds: "I was in Seoul in 1998 when they banned the traffic and the problems that had been predicted didn't materialise. "I hope that's the case this time and don't forget the athletes will have been prepared for it." Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:54:40 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4223.shtml world world Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, her doctor at a hospital in southern France said on Sunday. Oscar winner Jolie, 33, had the twins by caesarean section on Saturday evening at the Lenval hospital on the glamorous Promenade des Anglais waterfront drive in Nice. Actor Brad Pitt, the twins' father, was at her side, as Reuters reports. The girl, named Vivienne Marcheline, weighed 2.27 kg (5 lbs) while her brother, Knox Leon, weighed 2.28 kg. Marcheline was the first name of Jolie's mother, also an actress, who died of cancer last year. "The parents and the babies are in excellent health. Everything is fine," Jolie's doctor, Michel Sussmann, told Reuters. He said the c-section had been planned for a long time but the date was brought forward "for medical reasons." The doctor said Jolie was under epidural and was able to speak to a "perfectly calm" Pitt, 44, during the birth. "They were very happy," Sussmann said. Asked what Pitt was doing during the birth, he said: "He was looking at what I was doing. He was my assistant. No, that's a joke." Jolie arrived at the Lenval hospital in late June by helicopter from the Provence villa where she and Pitt had been staying with their four other children -- Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh. A frenzied crowd of photographers and camera crews camped outside the building on Sunday, sweating in the humid heat. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:17:41 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4222.shtml world world 22-year-old Diana Mendosa has become the winner of Miss Universe 2008 beauty contest. Girls from Russia, Columbia, Mexico and Dominican Republic got into the final, as UNIAN reports referring to Associated Press. In 2008 Miss Universe beauty contest founded by billionaire Donald Trump was held in the resort city of Nha Trang in Vietnam. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:57:35 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4221.shtml world world Two Russian astronauts aboard the International Space Station have made a daring spacewalk to repair their Soyuz descent capsule, Russian mission control said on Friday. Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko managed to remove an explosive bolt from the capsule, one of 10 used to separate two parts of the module during reentry, fixing a problem that had led to rough landings for two previous crews, as RIA Novosti reports. Russian engineers believed that the bolt had failed to fire during previous descents. Volkov and Kononenko put the bolt, which could have blown their hands off, into an onboard blast-proof container. "It is in!" one of the Russians called out. The astronauts' landing scheduled for this October should now go smoothly. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:51:12 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4220.shtml world world A new spy row looks set to break out between Moscow and London after Russia apparently accused a British diplomat of espionage. A number of Russian media sources claimed late on Thursday that the diplomat in question, Christopher Bowers, had been named by a security source as high-ranking member of the British intelligence service, RIA Novosti reports. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said that, "I can confirm that a member of the British staff is suspected of spying by the Russians. He is the acting director of UK Trade and Industry. However, we do not comment on intelligence matters." The source also said that Bowers had fallen under suspicion due to meetings with members of human rights activists from Russia's North Caucasus region, which includes Chechnya. He was also accused of having worked undercover while a BBC reporter in Uzbekistan. However, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) declined to make an official comment. The development is the latest in a long-lasting row between Moscow and London. Relations between the two countries have plunged to a post Cold War low since the murder of Russian security service defector and Kremlin critic, Alexander Litvinenko, in London in 2006. Moscow has refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, London's main suspect in the case, citing its Constitution. Unnamed British security service sources recently claimed that the Russian authorities were involved in Litvinenko's death. The Litvinenko row also led to the tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats last year, with then-Russian president, Vladimir Putin, stating that, "Britain forgets it is no longer a colonial power and that Russia was never its colony." The Russia Foreign Ministry said in March that tensions between the two countries had been worsened by the "anti-Russian activities" of Chechen separatist emissary, Akhmed Zakayev, and tycoon Boris Berezovsky, both of whom have been granted political asylum by Britain. The closure of British Council branch offices in Russia also contributed to rising tensions. Media sources in Britain have suggested the latest development may be linked to Bower's dealings with the Russian-British joint oil venture TNK-BP in his role as the British embassy's senior trade official. TNK-BP's British and Russian shareholders are currently embroiled in a dispute over strategy, management, and control of the company. In March, the FSB charged one of TNK-BP's Russian employees of spying for foreign companies. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:21:29 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/ukraine/2008/4219.shtml ukraine region Archasia Design Group Taiwan constructing company sued for the government of Ukraine because of terminated contract for reconstructing Olimpiyskyi sports complex in Kyyiv in the scope of preparation to Euro-2012. According to the Taiwan company sources, the action was filed to administrative court in Kyyiv to collect proves and is planning to hear the case in August, as Deutsche Welle reports. The Taiwan company stated that before the court’s decision it will go on preparing plans of the stadium reconstruction. Archasia Design Group won the tender procedure to reconstruct the National sports complex Olimpiyskyi in Kyyiv, but in June Ukrainian part cancelled the contract on the ground of technical reasons. On June 24th Ministry of Ukraine for Family and Sport stated that the company would not reconstruct the stadium in Kyyiv. On July 3rd JSC Mostobud constructing company began reconstruction works at the stadium. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:03:31 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4218.shtml world world Scientists have made an important advance in their efforts to predict earthquakes, the journal Nature says. A team of US researchers has detected stress-induced changes in rocks that occurred hours before two small tremors in California's San Andreas Fault. The observations used sensors lowered down holes drilled into the quake zone. The team says we are a long way from routine tremor forecasts but the latest findings hold out hope that such services might be possible one day. "If you had 10 hours' warning, from a practical point of view, you could evacuate populations, you could certainly get people out of buildings, you could get the fire department ready," said co-author Paul Silver of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington. "Hurricane [warnings] give you an idea of what could be done," he told the BBC's Science In Action programme. The new work comes out of the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (Safod) project which has been set up in Parkfield, a tiny rural town halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The town experiences small to moderate-sized quakes at regular intervals as the Pacific and North American tectonic plates grind against one another along the San Andreas Fault. Safod has drilled two holes - a shallow pilot hole, and a deeper hole right into the heart of the shifting rocks. The idea has been to recover sub-surface material for study in the lab and to use instrumentation in the holes to observe changes in the rock over time. In one experiment, the scientists used a piezoelectric device to generate seismic waves a kilometre down in one hole and then timed their arrival at a receiver seismometer in the other. "What we're looking for are changes in the velocity that would correspond to changes in stress, and it has been hypothesised that such stress changes would precede seismic events and could be used as precursors," said Dr Silver, explaining that wave speed varies with stress due to cracks opening and closing in the rock. "For a long time, people have been trying to do this. I think right now the technology has gotten better so we can measure this change more accurately." Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:42:30 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/society/2008/4217.shtml society region Kharkovian Aleksandr Smirnov achieved Russian spelling of his first and last name. Usually Ukraine citizens’ names are transliterated or transcribed in a way different from those of Russia. According to the court passport office is to change the man’s information: from OLEksandr to ALEksandr, from SMYrnov to SMIrnov. Low temperatures institute research officer, Candidate of Science, Aleksandr Smirnov has published monographs abroad for 30 years, he receives invitations to international symposia and seminars. He says that he felt disturbed when his name was written in international passport according to Ukrainian spelling. Aleksandr Smirnov, “My name was spelled as Smyrnov (letter Y appeared) Oleksandr since 1998. The leading letter changed. My last name is Smirnov. It is the most wide spread last name on post-Soviet territory. There are a million and a half of us, Smirnovs. It is even more widespread than Ivanov. Ivanovs are on the third place. First comes Smirnov, then Kuznetsov, and then Ivanov. And I have a very simple name – Aleksandr. It is of Greek origin. I have found 48 variants of this name spelled in roman type in Internet research systems. But none is written with O.” The physicist says that he has been creating his name in scientific world for years. Now he has to sign as Oleksandr SmYrnov – and colleagues abroad stopped identify his authorship. Aleksandr Smirnov, “I’ve had two passports before that. I was ‘Alexandre Smirnov. In French as it is supposed to be. Later, in independent Ukraine I was Smirnov Aleksandr – in English. It is acceptable too. But suddenly the name appeared in God knows which language.” At first Aleksandr Smirnov turned to passport office with a request to change the spelling of his name. They refused there, so he had to go to Civil Registry Office to change the name from Ukraine Oleksandr to Russian Aleksandr. Philologists do not support Aleksandr Smirnov’s striving to change first-last name. They say that there exist orthography rules where all is said and at least all citizens of Ukraine are to use exceptionally it. Roman Trifonov, teacher of Ukrainian, “There is spelling rules. I don’t quite understand how exactly the court may cancel what is written in orthography rules. That is, according to orthography rules, last name SmIrnov is written as SmYrnov in Ukrainian. Theoretically, if a student made a mistake in a dictation and received a low mark, he can turn to a court and say: no, it is not a mistake …and bring some ideas. The court will admit that it is not the mistake and will oblige the teacher who had followed the rules to put a higher mark.” Pleased with court win Aleksandr Smirnov has already received a new Ukrainian passport, right now he is forming up his international one. He is dreaming to make up an efficient way to change the wrong, in his opinion, written in roman type form of the Ukrainian capital. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:40:33 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4216.shtml world world Israel's defence minister has warned of his country's readiness to act against Iran if it feels threatened. In a strong statement, Ehud Barak said Israel had "proved in the past that it won't hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake". Mr Barak added that the reactions of Israel's enemies - such as Hezbollah - would need to be taken into account, as BBC reports. He spoke as Iran's testing of missiles that could reach Israel stoked tensions between the two, and with the US. Mr Barak, speaking in Tel Aviv, warned that diplomatic solutions should be pursued before other options were taken up. "Currently the focus is international sanctions and vigorous diplomatic activity, and these avenues should be exhausted," he said. The Iranian military tested missiles on Wednesday that could reach Israel, with further tests on Thursday. The tests included the first night test of the Shahab-3 missile, said to have a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles), along with shore-to-sea, surface-to-surface and sea-to-air missiles, state media reported. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US had increased its security in the region and Iran should not be "confused" about US capabilities. Israel has responded to the missile tests by putting on display one of its aircraft that it says can spy on Iran. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:00:02 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4215.shtml world world Israel's chief Nazi hunter has gone to Chile to step up the hunt for the most wanted Nazi fugitive, believed to be in the country or neighbouring Argentina. BBC reports that Efraim Zuroff says new information strongly suggests Aribert Heim - known as Dr Death - is hiding in Patagonia, where his daughter lives. Heim tortured and killed prisoners in Mauthausen concentration camp in WWII. Heim fled Germany in 1962 before authorities were able to arrest him. Chilean and Argentinean papers have published pictures of Heim in 1950, 1959 and how he might look now. These are also displayed on posters advertising the search. "In the last few days we've received information from two different sources, both relating to Chile, which we think have very good potential," the director of Israel's Simon Wiesenthal Centre, Mr Zuroff, said. "The reason we are going [to Patagonia]... is of course the fact that Heim's daughter lives in Puerto Montt, and we think there is a strong likelihood that he might be in that area or in the area between Puerto Montt and Bariloche [Argentina]." The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, along with the German and Austrian governments, has offered $495,000 (315,000 euros; £250,000) for information leading to Heim's arrest. Although he would now be 94, they believe Heim is still alive because his family has yet to claim around $1.6m sitting in a German bank account in his name, says the BBC's Gideon Long in Santiago. In order to make the claim, his family would have to prove he is dead. The search for Heim is part of Operation Last Chance, a final bid to bring Nazi war criminals to justice more than 60 years after the end of WWII. Heim kept meticulous notes of his activities at Mauthausen. According to Holocaust survivors, he performed operations and amputations without anaesthetic to see how much pain his victims could endure. Injecting victims straight into the heart with petrol, water or poison were said to have been his favoured method at Mauthausen. "His crimes are fully documented by himself, because he kept a log of the operations that he carried out," Mr Zuroff said. "He tortured many inmates before he killed them at Mauthausen, and he used body parts of the people he killed as decorations." After the war, Heim was detained by US forces, but later disappeared. He practised medicine in the German town of Baden-Baden until 1962, when he fled the country after being tipped off that the authorities were about to prosecute him. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:58:49 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4214.shtml world world The US and Israel have condemned Iran after it test-fired nine missiles, including one able to reach Israel. Iran state media said the Shahab-3 had a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles) and was armed with a conventional warhead, as BBC reports. Iran has tested the missile before, but the latest launch comes amid rising tensions with the US and Israel over the country's nuclear programme. William Burns, the US under-secretary of state, called the early morning remote desert site tests "provocative". Following the launch - which sent oil prices climbing - he told a Congressional hearing "the US and international community remain committed to meeting the challenges posed by Iran". In the Israeli parliament, Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim said: "I suggest Israel will not talk, and Israel should prepare itself to do what is needed to do." Two other types of missile with shorter ranges were also fired as part of the Great Prophet III war games being staged by Iran's military. Brig Gen Hoseyn Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' air force, said: "Our missiles are ready for shooting at any place and any time, quickly and with accuracy. "The enemy must not repeat its mistakes. The enemy targets are under surveillance." The tests are intended to deter any Israeli or US strike against Tehran's nuclear installations, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus. Our correspondent - who is in Israel - says the country has a fully operational anti-ballistic missile system, which Israeli military experts believe can counter any Iranian threat. But there is no room for complacency, he adds. On Monday, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader said it would retaliate against any military attack by hitting the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Other commanders have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large part of the world's oil flows, and to target the US and its allies around the world if Iran comes under attack. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the test justified Washington's plan to base a missile shield plan in Eastern Europe - which is strongly opposed by Russia. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:41:23 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4213.shtml world world The ancient sport of chariot racing is to be revived in Rome in the fall of 2009, the organizers of the races announced on Tuesday. Chariot races were very popular in ancient Rome and were featured in the original Olympic Games. A chariot race was first described by Homer in his Iliad, RIA Novosti reports. "The races will last for three days, starting from October 17, 2009... Chariot racers from around the world are expected to compete," Franco Calo, one of the promoters, said. He said the races would be held at the Circus Maximus, an ancient chariot racing venue which is now a park. Chariot racers are, understandably, far and few between, and anyone hoping to participate will have to take lessons before heading for the starting line. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:50:40 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/society/2008/4212.shtml society region After several cast changes, Bosnian actor-filmmaker Emir Kusturica is set to star alongside Guillaume Canet in Farewell, Christian Carion’s third feature, following The Girl from Paris (2001) and Merry Christmas (2005 – Focus). Some scenes of the feature were shot in Kharkiv, on Maidan Svobody. Kusturica’s character in Farewell was originally set to be played by Nikita Mikhalkov who pulled out due to other commitments, but also perhaps out of political caution, given the subject matter (the secret services), a burning issue in Russia at the moment, as dearcinema.com reports. The spy thriller – which starts shooting this week – is also set to star US actor William Dafoe and German-Romanian actress Alexandra-Maria Lara (Downfall, Youth Without Youth). Kusturica has appeared as an actor in ten or so films, but only once played a lead, in Patrice Leconte’s The Widow of Saint-Pierre (2000). The director also appeared in Giovanni Robbiano’s Hermano (2007), Roberto Andò’s Secret Journey (2006) and Neil Jordan’s The Good Thief. The film – which is adapted from Sergueï Kostine’s Bonjour Farewell – is co-written by Carion and Eric Raynaud, and is based on real-life events that occurred in the early 1980s and led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. A KGB lieutenant-colonel provided French counter-intelligence with crucial information about Soviet spying in Western countries, especially in the areas of economics, the military, industry and avant-garde technological research. This betrayal, dubbed the “Farewell Code”, is explored in the film and is linked to the intervention of a French engineer. Produced by Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boeffard for Nord-Ouest Films, in co-production with Bertrand Faivre for Le Bureau, Farewell has a budget of ˆ18.4m. This includes backing from France 2 Cinéma, Canal +, Ciné Cinéma and the Ile-de-France region, where 45 days of shooting will take place. Also co-producing, Pathé will release the film domestically and handle international sales. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:16:10 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4211.shtml world world A waxwork of Adolf Hitler will return to Berlin's new Madame Tussauds as soon as experts have restored the head ripped off by a demonstrator on its opening day, the museum said on Monday. Just minutes after the museum opened its doors to the public on Saturday, a 41-year-old man scuffled with security guards and leapt over a rope barrier into the dark corner where the dummy of a despondent-looking Hitler was seated. Shouting "No more war! he proceeded to tear off the head, as Reuters reports. The man, arrested but later released under investigation, told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper he was angry about the exhibit; but in the end he carried out the attack to win a bet. The Hitler waxwork has unleashed a storm of protest in Germany where public displays of Nazi memorabilia or symbols are generally banned. Critics argue it is tasteless and inappropriate to display a replica of the man who unleashed world war and ordered the extermination of Europe's Jews in a place mainly aimed at light-hearted entertainment. Some even warn it could attract neo-Nazis who want to pay homage to the Nazi dictator. But Madame Tussauds defended its decision to show Hitler on Monday and said it would reinstate the 200,000 euro ($313,220) figure once it had been put back together, a process which could take weeks. "Hitler represents a significant part of the history of Berlin which cannot be denied," the museum said in a statement. The museum said it respected other people's opinions and had taken great care to portray the dictator in a sensitive manner. The figure was depicted at a table in a gloomy mock bunker just a few hundred meters from the site of the original bunker. "We are now considering structural changes to make sure something like this cannot happen again," said a spokesman for the museum. Erecting a reinforced glass or plastic screen to protect Hitler might be one possibility. The decapitation attracted some praise. "At last a successful attack on Hitler," said Henryk Broder, a columnist for Der Spiegel. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:44:08 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/world/2008/4210.shtml world world A suicide bomber has rammed a car full of explosives into the gates of the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital, killing 41 people, officials say. More than 140 were injured, including civilians and security forces, as BBC reports. Defence attache Brig R Mehta, a senior Indian diplomat and two Indian security guards were among those killed. No-one has admitted being behind the attack, one of the deadliest in Kabul for some time. The Taleban have vowed to step up their attacks in Kabul. President Hamid Karzai said the attackers wanted to undermine good relations between Afghanistan and India. India also condemned the "cowardly terrorists' attack". The US condemned the "needless act of violence", as did the European Union, which described it as a "terrorist attack targeting innocent civilians". Afghanistan has seen a sharp increase in violence in the south and east. The bomb exploded as people were queuing for visas at the embassy. Ali Hassan Fahimi said shrapnel had landed into his office, which is close to the site of the blast. "It was so strong... and our staff were shocked," he said. Among those killed in the attack were five Afghan security guards at Indonesia's Kabul embassy. Officials in Jakarta said they did not believe they were targeted, but it was simply because the two embassies were close to each other. India has close relations with Afghanistan. It has been funding a number of large infrastructure projects, correspondents say. Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta visited the Indian embassy shortly after the attack, his spokesman Sultan Ahmed Baheen said. "India and Afghanistan have a deep relationship between each other. Such attacks of the enemy will not harm our relations," Mr Spanta told the personnel at the embassy, the spokesman said. And the Indian government spokesman said: "Such acts of terror will not deter us from fulfilling our commitments to the government and people of Afghanistan." Afghanistan's interior ministry said it believed the attack was carried out "in coordination and consultation with an active intelligence service in the region". It did not specify. But in the past, Afghanistan has accused Pakistani agents of being behind a number of attacks on its soil. In April, there was an assassination attempt against the Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the city. And earlier in the year, Taleban militants launched an attack on the Serena hotel killing several people. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:33:43 +0200 http://news.mediaport.info/eng/city/2008/4209.shtml city region Cult director Emir Kusturitsa was in Kharkiv, but as an actor. The shootings were in the center of the city, on Maidan Svobody, during the passed weekend, but the organizers concealed any information about the future movie thoroughly. The only thing made public was that the author – is French director Christian Carion. One of the crew began to talk unexpectedly. - Who is the director of movie? Designer, Frenchman, “Mr Carion…” Even mass scenes actors – there were primarily Kharkovians among them – were told not to reveal any details on the film. Vadym Dolzhenko, mass scenes actor, “Actually we are not supposed to tell anything. We were told not to.” Olha, mass scenes actress, “Well, we do know that Kusturitsa has the leading part.” Mass actors say interrupting each other – Kharkiv became Moscow of 80s for there days. The “Farewell” movie is about love and KGB, as authors say. Emir Kusturitsa plays KGB colonel Vetrov. Another detail – is that French actor Guillaume Canet is to take part in the film. One of the actresses occupied in the shootings say that the casting among Kharkovians had been held since last Monday. Olena is taking up medical equipment delivering, but she couldn’t resist the name of Kusturitsa. Olena Bahatska, mass scenes actress, “If I got it right, the outfit was brought from France. It was selected here already. Everybody was invited to try-on and was arrayed according to different images.” No one hfrom mass scenes actors had seen Kusturitsa, even at a distance. But the actors are sure that he was on the shooting site. Kharkiv drivers, owners of Soviet cars of 70s also take part in the mass scene. The organizers found them via Internet. The task is to ride thorough Hovorov academy – which is the famous building on Lubyanka according to the screenplay. See photo report on MadiePort site. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:26:09 +0200