Suzannah Clark (Harvard University) Title and description TBA A reception will follow.

Pheaross Graham (Stanford) Title and description TBA A reception will follow.

Jennifer Iverson (University of Chicago) Title and description TBA A reception will follow.

Gavin Steingo (Princeton University) Title and description TBA A reception will follow.

Cecily Nicholson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Creative Writing at University of British Columbia. Nicholson is the author of four poetry books, Triage, From the Poplars, Wayside Sang, and Harrowings, and past recipient of the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize (2015) and the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry (2018). She is the first honouree of the Phyllis Webb Memorial Reading award from the Poetry in Canada Society (2023) and 2024/2025 Holloway Lecturer in Poetry and Poetics at UC Berkeley.Ana María Ochoa Gautier is Professor and Chair of the Department of Music, and faculty member at the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University. Her recent book, Aurality, Listening and Knowledge in Nineteenth-Century Colombia (Duke University Press, 2014) was awarded the Alan Merriam Prize by the Society for Ethnomusicology. She is also the author of Músicas locales en tiempos de globalización (Buenos Aires: Norma 2003) and Entre los Deseos y los Derechos: Un Ensayo Crítico sobre Políticas Culturales (Bogotá: Ministerio de cultura, 2003). She writes on music and cultural policy, forced silence and armed conflict, and genealogies of listening and sound in Latin America and the Caribbean. Her current projects explore the bioacoustics of life and death in colonial histories of the Americas. She has been a Distinguished Greenleaf Scholar in Residence at Tulane University (2016) and a Guggenheim Fellow (2007-2008). She has served on the advisory boards of the Society for Cultural Anthropology, the Démos project at the Cité de la Musique - Philharmonie de Paris, and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. She will be a visiting professor in UC Berkeley’s Department of Music in Spring 2025.Tom McEnaney is Associate Professor in the departments of Comparative Literature and Spanish & Portuguese, and the Director of the Berkeley Center for New Media. His research concerns the intersection of literature, sound technology, and politics. He is the author of many articles and the book Acoustic Properties: Radio, Narrative, and the New Neighborhood of the Americas. His new book, with Judith Peraino, will be out in August and is titled We’re Having Much More Fun: Punk Archives for the Present from CBGB to Gilman and Beyond. The 2024/25 series includes: Rizvana Bradley (Film & Media), Asma Kazmi (Art Practice/BCNM), Tehmina Khan (College Writing Program), Roshanak Kheshti (TDPS), SanSan Kwan (TDPS), Fae Myenne Ng (Ethnic Studies), Cecily Nicholson (English), Ana María Ochoa Gautier (Music), Andy Shanken (Architecture/Art History), and Stephanie Syjuco (Art Practice).

Perú Negro, LopezDaphnis and Chloe No. 2, RavelMusic from Studio Ghibli, HisaishiDavid Milnes, conductor Join us for this end-of-year concert that includes a special performance of classics from the Studio Ghibli catalog. Featuring a full orchestra and visual accompaniment, this three-day event is a fan-favorite that is certain to sell out. Get your tickets early!Safety The UC Berkeley Department of Music is committed to the health and safety of our students, staff, and patrons. Measures to protect concertgoers and musicians will be informed by state, local, and UC Berkeley Public Health policies and are subject to change.Accessibility If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please contact the Hertz Hall Manager at 510-642-4864 or HertzHallMgr@berkeley.edu. with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event. Facebook: @ucbmusicdept Instagram: @ucberkeleymusic  Twitter/X: @ucbmusicdept Youtube: Berkeley Music YouTube channel

Swingin’ the GospelAn evening of gospel featuring jazzy & contemporary renditions of spirituals, hymns, & moreCandace Johnson, director Safety The UC Berkeley Department of Music is committed to the health and safety of our students, staff, and patrons. Measures to protect concertgoers and musicians will be informed by state, local, and UC Berkeley Public Health policies and are subject to change. Social distancing, masks, and proof of COVID 19 vaccination may be required.Purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended Social Media Facebook: @ucbmusicdept Instagram: @ucberkeleymusic Twitter: @ucbmusicdept Youtube: Berkeley Music channel Accessibility If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please contact the Hertz Hall Manager at 510.642.4864 or hertzhallmgr@berkeley.edu with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event. PERFORMANCES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

dj sniff (Takuro Mizuta Lippit) Composition Colloquium (CNMAT) – Nov. 22Title of your talkParallel Traces - Records that stoped the war, trained the ear, and gave birth to turntablismshort abstractFor this occasion, I will talk about how my practice in turntablism and free improvisation led to the creation of my latest works that deal with historical narratives manifested through vinyl records and their playback devices. Namely, I will talk about Parallel Traces of the Jewel Voice (2022) and The Inverted Listening of Explosive Enemy Aircraft Sounds (2023) which both examine the critical roles that phonograph records played during WWⅡ Japan and its colonized territories, and Transformer (2023) - a sound installation that is constructed by reinterpreting stories about Grandmaster Flash’s early experiments with sound technology.short biodj sniff (Takuro Mizuta Lippit) is a musician and curator in the field of experimental electronic arts and improvised music. His work builds upon a distinct practice that combines DJing, instrument design, and free improvisation. Over the years, he has collaborated with artists such as: Evan Parker, Otomo Yoshihide, Tarek Atoui, Senyawa and many others. He holds a B.A. from Keio University Department of Aesthetics and Science of Arts, M.P.S. from NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program, and Ph.D. from De Montfort University Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media. Alongside his artistic work, he has held positions at various institutions such as Artistic Director of STEIM – Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music Amsterdam (2007-2012), Visiting Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong School of Creative Media (2012-17), and Associate Professor at Kyoto Seika University (2020 - 2022). Currently based in Los Angeles, he is the Co-Director of Asian Meeting Festival (AMF) - an international music festival that brings together experimental musicians from Asia since 2005, instructor at Shared Campus Summer Schools led by Zurich University of the Arts, and a part-time lecturer at Kyoto Seika and Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Global Arts.

‘Un Matisse Qui Chante’: Image, Sound, and Story in The Umbrellas of CherbourgWalter Frisch (Columbia University)The year 2024 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the release of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg(The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, 1964), which has since become a beloved classic in France and around the world. Diverging in many respects from the aesthetics of the contemporary Nouvelle Vague, Umbrellaswas a bold experiment by writer-director Jacques Demy and composer Michel Legrand that also departed markedly from traditional film musicals. Umbrellaswas sung from beginning to end, without any spoken dialogue. The creators aimed for a “transposed realism” that also bore little resemblance to opera. Legrand’s score, composed in close collaboration with Demy, was recorded before any filming began. The painterly costumes and sets were also coordinated with the music and screenplay. Umbrellashas been recognized as reflecting important cultural, political, and social issues of the France of its day, including modernization and commodification in the decades after World War II, the pervasive impact of Algerian War of 1954–1962, and changing family values during an early wave of feminism in France. More recently, Umbrellashas been interpreted within the framework of queer cinema. This talk will explore the genesis and unique qualities of Umbrellas, as well as some of these important contexts.Note: Frisch recommends watching Les Parapluies de Cherbourgin advance, if possible. It is available with subtitles on several streaming platforms. A reception will follow.

Students of the Vocal Studies Program perform English Art Songs from the 19th and 20th centuries.Jeffrey Sykes, pianoNikolas Nackley, director Admission to all Noon Concerts is free. Registration is recommended at music.berkeley.edu/register.Safety The UC Berkeley Department of Music is committed to the health and safety of our students, staff, and patrons. Measures to protect concertgoers and musicians will be informed by state, local, and UC Berkeley Public Health policies and are subject to change. Social distancing, masks, and proof of COVID 19 vaccination may be required. UC Berkeley does not promise or guarantee that all patrons or employees on site are vaccinated. Unvaccinated individuals may be present as a result of exemptions, exceptions, fraudulent verification, or checker error. None of these precautions eliminate the risk of exposure to COVID-19. Registration is strongly encouraged for noon concerts at music.berkeley.edu/register.Accessibility If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please contact the Hertz Hall Manager at 510.642.4864 or hertzhallmgr@berkeley.edu. with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event. Facebook: @ucbmusicdept Instagram: @ucberkeleymusic  Twitter @ucbmusicdept Youtube: Berkeley Music YouTube channel

Jack Smith’s prosecution (or was it “persecution”) of Gov. Bob McConnell was so overly zealous that it provided an extremely rare unanimous Supreme Court repudiation of it. Bob McConnell’s legal expenses amounted to a devastating $27 million.

Author Stacy Schiff gives a 10-minute writer's workshop before an event recorded for radio in Portsmouth. The workshop was recorded backstage. #writing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Long-time NPR reporter and five-time author Tom Gjelten recently visited the studios here at NHPR. We, of course, couldn't resist talking to him about his latest book, A Nation of Nations, and asking him for ten minutes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A bona fide podcasting star, Aaron Mahnke has turned his love of the darker side of history into the spooky smash hit, Lore, which he researches and authors. He's also the author of four thrillers, a veteran of self-publishing, and handy with an 80s film reference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The bestselling author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - and bonafide Charming British Lady - Helen Simonson lets us in on her writing process, her thoughts on sunshine, and the perils of HGTV. Her latest novel, set in 1914, is The Summer Before the War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Hall is now 87 and no longer writing poetry, a pursuit he calls "a young man's game" which takes "too much testosterone." But Hall, former Poet Laureate of both New Hampshire and the United States, long ago cemented his place in literary history. In this episode of the 10-Minute Writer's Workshop, Virginia and Sara traveled to Hall's home in Wilmot, NH, to speak to him - getting lost along the way, and, ultimately, finding themselves right at home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anyone who's ever been an awkward adolescent knows that for decades now, dog-eared copies of Judy Blume's books have been passed around school playgrounds like secrets, or read under the covers after lights out. Her best known books - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Deenie, Blubber, and Forever - offered young readers plain language and shame -free stories about periods, bullying, sexual urges and, even 'going all the way'. Judy Blume finally tells her own story with In the Unlikely Event. It’s set in 1952, when three planes crashed into her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey. We sat down with her in the greenroom at the Music Hall in Portsmouth before a Writers on a New England Stage live event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Essayist, novelist, columnist, sportswriter and former ethicist for the New York Times Magazine, Chuck Klosterman has got a wildly original voice. That makes sense for a guy who's written about glam metal bands in North Dakota, or whether you should hire a detective to trail your spouse. He's author of several best-sellers including Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs and most recently But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelly Link is one of a handful of writers to manage to be wondrous, fantastical and ominous at the same time. As Kirkus says, her work is “like Kafka hosting Saturday Night Live, mixing humor with existential dread.” Her most recent collection, Get in Trouble, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. She and her husband manage Small Beer Press. Photo © 2014 Sharona Jacobs Photography Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andre Dubus III's memoir Townie told the story of his violent childhood on the wrong side of the tracks. Writing was his way out, and he's made more than good, with multiple NYT bestsellers, an Oprah’s Book Club pick, and an Oscar-nominated film adaptation (for his novel The House of Sand and Fog). And he gets out there, as a public speaker and writing instructor for graduate programs, seminars and retreats. We caught up with him at New Hampshire Writers’ Project's annual Writers’ Day. Photo of Virginia & Andre by Karen Kenney Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The novelist, short story writer and essayist Cynthia Ozick's best known piece of writing is called The Shawl, a brutal, phantasmal story of a woman and two children marching to a Nazi concentration camp. The Holocaust and Jewish identity are recurring topics in Ozick's fiction and criticism. Growing up in the Bronx, she was called Christ-killer, and humiliated for not singing Christmas carols at school. Now 88, her 7th volume of criticism, Critics, Monsters, Fanatics, And Other Literary Essays, was published recently, in July 2016. Ozick's last public reading was 6 years ago, but, happily, we got her on the phone from her home in Westchester County, New York. Photo: Ric Kallaher Music: Podington Bear Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legal decisions are rarely read for pleasure. And though read and re-read and excerpted and quoted, they are not always quotable. Clocking in at an average of just under 5000 words, they can sound jargony, pompous and bone-dry in the wrong hands. Today's 10-Minute Writers Workshop asks an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States about what goes into writing an opinion. Justice Stephen Breyer was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1994 and is an exuberant advocate for participatory democracy, animated explainer of the reasoning behind decisions and author of several books. I spoke with Justice Breyer in the green room at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, just before talking with him about his most recent, The Court and the World - American Law and the New Global Realities for Writers On A New England Stage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the 10-Minute Writer’s Workshop, singer-songwriter, musician and novelist Josh Ritter – who might say writer first, musician second. It was a song that spun into his 2011 novel Bright's Passage. Josh Ritter’s songs draw deeply from the narrative traditions of American and Scottish folk music he studied after dropping out of the neuroscience program at Oberlin. They're little stories of character and place...wild prairies, snake oil salesman, teenage lust, and adults running out of road. Josh describes his most recent album Sermon on the Rocks as “messianic oracular honky-tonk.” We caught up with him at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire, the day it was announced that Bob Dylan would be rewarded the Nobel Prize. So we focused on songwriting... let’s call this the 10-Minute Songwriter’s Workshop. Music: Josh Ritter, "Henrietta, Indiana" (used with permission) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Gauld -- a cartoonist, illustrator of comics and covers for the New Yorker and The Believer. His weekly cartoon about the arts for The Guardian newspaper is a wry, often deadpan favorite among writers. He is extremely prolific, author of more than a dozen books of comics, including You're Just Jealous of My Jetpack and most recently Mooncop. The lunar cop is perfectly Gauldian character - doesn't say much, spends a lot of time walking the barren landscape, is pretty lonesome and quaint. Virginia met with Tom before his talk at Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just an hour's drive from our studio. The challenge was finding a quiet spot to record in Harvard square...at rush hour. Music: "Feeding Pigeons" - Poddington Bear Ad Music: "Joy in the Restaurant" - David Szesztay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tana French is the Edgar Award-winning author of the Dublin Murder Squad series. The newest, called The Trespasser, is the sixth in the best-selling, habit-forming series. "It’s taken for granted that anybody who’s read one [Tana French novel] will very shortly have read them all,” wrote Laura Miller in the New Yorker. French wrote her debut novel, In The Woods, in the long stretches between parts as a stage actress in Dublin. That theatrical training - understanding people from the inside out - may well be the edge that sets her books apart from other mysteries and police procedurals. The search for the killer becomes entangled with a search for the self, or as Miller put it, "in most crime fiction, the central mystery is who is the murderer? In French’s novels, it’s who is the detective?” Music by Podington Bear Ad music by Uncanny Valleys Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pilot Viktor Belenko, who hijacked a Soviet MiG-25 interceptor fighter to Japan and sought political asylum in the United States, died in the US. He was 76. The pilot, who literally brought USSR's advanced technology to Western specialists, died on September 24. A routine notice of his death appeared in the obituaries section of The Washington Post two weeks later. The New York Times published an article about Viktor Belenko's life in November. Belenko's sons Tom and Paul were staying with their father at the time of his death. The pilot got married in the USA, but later divorced. He is survived by two children and four grandchildren. They decided not to hold a memorial service.

During the late 1950s, the Soviet administration decided to design a helicopter with the world's largest carrying capacity. The tests of the new helicopter began ten years later. However, it just so happened that no one wanted to replicate the potential pride of Soviet engineers.The helicopter is known as B-12, and it is unofficially known as Mi-12. Its unsuccessful story has proved that world records may at times be reductive. During the 1960s, the production of helicopters was thriving, and military requirements were getting increasingly demanding. It was during those times when engineers designed the first intercontinental missile. First-generation intercontinental missiles were too heavy to be transported on any means other than trains. A R-7 warhead could only be delivered by plane or train because the warhead without fuel weighed 26 tons. First Lockheed U-2, then B-12 Needless to say that railway transportations could be easily tracked. The USSR found that out after a story with the American reconnaissance aircraft.After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, the United States took every effort to prevent such attacks in the future. Thus, the Lockheed U-2 appeared in 1955. The aircraft was carrying various modules, including those using ray tracing and ultra-precise lenses.The camera of the US reconnaissance aircraft was so powerful that it was possible to count cows in a photograph of a field, taken from an altitude of 18 km.The aircraft was flying quietly over the USSR for more than five years, until one of them was shot down and its pilot was taken hostage in 1960. However, 24 previous flights helped the Americans find out the whereabouts of Soviet military facilities, including missile ranges.It was easy to track down those facilities on the ground with the help of conspicuous railway tracks. The USSR was convinced that it was about time to develop aerial means of transportation for missiles. By 1963, the largest Mi-6 helicopter could lift 12 tons, but it was not good to carry a 26-ton cargo.  This prompted Soviet engineers to start working on the B-12 helicopter. At first they simply wanted to upscale the Mi-6, but it then became clear that one huge rotor could not be adapted to the laws of physics. Soviet designers decided that it would take them too long to stabilise the new technology. They opted for a different variant, in which they took 35-meter rotors with a total capacity of 26,000 horsepower from the Mi-6 helicopter and arranged them to the sides of the hull.The rotors moved in the opposite direction to balance each other, while the rear wing was stabilizing the swing.We can now see this solution in the design of modern-day drones, but there were no helicopter models with this type of rotors in the past. In terms of the size of the hull, it was larger than the Boeing 737, which can house up to 189 people. The B-12 could carry a record 192 passengers. As for equipment, the new helicopter could fit a nuclear intercontinental missile.

Thirty years ago, on December 8, 1991, the Belovezha Accords, signed in Belarus, led to the collapse of the USSR. Yuri Voronin, Chairman of the Commission of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on Budget, Plans, Taxes and Prices, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation (in 1991) recalls the events of 30 years ago. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the collapse of the USSR was the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. After the collapse of the USSR, as many as 25 million Russian people found themselves abroad overnight.

On Thursday, February 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual Address to the Federal Assembly. In the beginning of the speech, he touched on the topics of the special military operation in Ukraine, relations with the West, strategic stability, and later proceeded to announce a number of new national projects, changes in economic and social sphere. About special military operation Putin recalled that 2024 marks the tenth anniversary of the "legendary Russian Spring.” "The love that the people living in Crimea and new regions share for their homeland evokes pride," Vladimir Putin said.

El Departamento de Seguros de Texas (TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés) anunció a Dan Paschal como el Comisionado Adjunto de la recién creada división de Relaciones Externas. Esta división incluirá Comunicaciones (actualmente Asuntos Públicos) y Relaciones Gubernamentales (actualmente Asuntos de la Agencia).

The case was led by Texas Department of Insurance investigators and prosecutors working with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

El caso fue dirigido por los investigadores del Departamento de Seguros de Texas (TDI por su nombre y siglas en inglés) y los fiscales trabajando con la Oficina del Fiscal del condado Harris.

Registration is open for DWC’s free and updated lunchtime webinar series, including our eight-part boot camp training for those new to workers’ compensation.

El Departamento de Seguros de Texas (Texas Department of Insurance - TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés) anuncia el nuevo comisionado jefe adjunto y nuevos líderes para las divisiones de Operaciones Administrativas, Seguros de Vida y de Salud, y las Divisiones del Concejo General.

Si su casa sufrió daños por el severo estado del tiempo que impactó el sureste de Texas esta semana, contacte a su compañía de seguros para presentar una reclamación lo antes posible.

El exjugador de la NFL Corey Bradford se declaró culpable por presentar reclamaciones fraudulentas para reembolso de salud después de una investigación realizada por la Unidad de Fraude del Departamento de Seguros de Texas (TDI por su nombre y siglas en inglés).

Un ajustador de seguros público de Texas acusado de robar más de $268,000 en reclamaciones de seguros a múltiples víctimas ha sido acusado por un gran jurado del condado Kimble.

Tras una investigación de la Oficina del jefe estatal de bomberos (State Fire Marshal’s Office, SFMO, por su nombre y siglas en inglés), un gran jurado del condado Jasper acusó a un instalador de equipos de seguridad contra incendios de dos cargos de manipulación de un documento gubernamental.

James Adkisson, el exjugador de la NFL se declaró culpable por presentar reclamaciones fraudulentas de más de $33,000 para reembolso de salud después de una investigación realizada por la Unidad de Fraude del Departamento de Seguros de Texas (Texas Department of Insurance, TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés).

Barry Jay Glenn, fundador y director ejecutivo de Salvasen Health, radicada en Houston, se entregó el martes a las autoridades del condado Harris. Glenn se enfrenta a cargos de seguro no autorizado por cobrar primas y vender planes de salud sin licencia, ni la autorización del Departamento de Seguros de Texas (Texas Department of Insurance, TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés).

El Departamento de Seguros de Texas (Texas Department of Insurance, TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés) les recuerda a las víctimas de las inundaciones que deben documentar los daños y presentar las reclamaciones al seguro de inmediato.

Si sufrió daños por causa del huracán Beryl, llame a su compañía de seguros para comenzar una reclamación.

El Departamento de Seguros de Texas (Texas Department of Insurance, TDI, por su nombre y siglas en inglés) tiene consejos para ayudarle a reconocer y evitar las estafas comunes de contratistas.

Un individuo de Luling se enfrenta a tres cargos de delito grave después de que una investigación de la Oficina del Jefe Estatal de Bomberos (State Fire Marshal’s Office, SFMO, por su nombre y siglas en inglés) sobre un incendio en un negocio local llevó al descubrimiento de contrabando.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Dostoyevsky of 20th century, dies of heart failureAlexander Solzhenitsyn died in Moscow at age 89. President Dmitry Medvedev presented his condolences to writer’s wife and sons. Stepan Solzhenitsyn told The Associated Press his father died late Sunday of heart failure, but declined further comment. Solzhenitsyn's unflinching accounts of torment and survival in the Soviet Union's labor camps riveted his countrymen, whose secret history he exposed. They earned him 20 years of bitter exile, but international renown. And they inspired millions, perhaps, with the knowledge that one person's courage and integrity could, in the end, defeat the totalitarian machinery of an empire.

Billions of citizens from more than 130 countries are expected to turn off their lights on Saturday for the Earth Hour 2011, the event organizer told Australia's media on Thursday. The Earth Hour event, organized by environment group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), was first started in Sydney of Australia in 2007 with 2.2 million Australians taking part to turn off their lights in aid of the environment. By 2009, up to 1 billion citizens across the world had taken part. According to Earth Hour spokesman Winston Su, this year, 133 countries had signed up for the event, with 13 of them taking part for the first time, Xinhua informs. "Earth Hour is a chance for people and communities across the globe to join together with the common purpose of a sustainable future for our planet," said Andy Ridley, cofounder and executive director of Earth Hour. "This year Earth Hour asks people to commit to the event, big or small, for the coming year, taking Earth Hour beyond the hour."

The head of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, Irina Viner, announced that her athletes would no longer compete at international tournaments in a neutral status, TASS reports. According to Viner, until recently Russian athletes could only count on one place in victory at the Games. "What's the point of that? There's no flag, no anthem, no communication, no fans, but there's special uniforms and special music. It would be a shame if we go there. This would be very humiliating for Russia. Russian rhythmic gymnasts will not go there for certain. We will never again perform without the Russian flag and anthem," said Viner.

Russian federal TV channels may refuse to broadcast the 2018 Winter Olympics from South Korean Pyeongchang should the Russian delegation be suspended, the Vedomosti newspaper wrote. For the time being, Russia's three major TV channels - Channel One, Rossiya-1 (part of VGTRK) and Match TV (part of Gazprom Media) plan to broadcast Winter Olympics from South Korea. Yet, if the Russian national team is excluded from the Games, Channel One and Rossiya-1 will most likely refuse to broadcast the Olympics. Naturally, Russian people watch Olympic Games to support Russian athletes in the first place. If no Russian athletes take part in the Games, the audience of the major sports event of this winter will decease sharply, representatives of the above-mentioned channels say. It makes no sense for major channels to pay millions of dollars for the rights to broadcast the Games, if they make no money from advertising because of low ratings.

An anonymous assistant to President Putin has had a few meetings with winter sports coaches, during which he "in a mild form" recommended to refuse from participating in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. According to All Sports agency, an official from the Kremlin administration, whose name remains anonymous, specified that it would have to be the athletes themselves to make such a decision. The talks of the of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission with representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) took place in Moscow this week. The meetings were devoted to the structure of the Russian delegation during the Games in South Korea. The next day it became known that a number of prominent Russian athletes with an unblemished reputation, including biathlete Anton Shipulin, skier Sergei Ustyugov and speed skater Victor An, as well as the leaders of hockey and speed skating teams were not invited to the competitions, even though those athletes were not listed either in Richard McLaren or Denis Oswald reports. On Tuesday, the press service of the Russian Ice Skating Federation said that the IOC did not allow Russian figure skaters Ksenia Stolbova and Ivan Bukin to participate in the 2018 Winter Games without explaining the reasons. Representatives for the Russian Ice Skating Federation expressed their indignation about the absurd decision and started to defend the honour and dignity of athletes in all possible ways.The Russian Olympic Committee prepares to give a hard estimate to IOC's actions and request appropriate explanations.Following those events, Russian politicians assumed that the IOC was pushing Russia to boycott the Winter Games 2018 and exit the Olympic movement."If no explanations follow, perhaps Russian athletes will have to revise their decision regarding the participation in the Olympics in Pyeongchang. They wanted to make us boycott the Games before, but as soon as they realised that we were not going to do it, they decided to suspend clean athletes with perfect reputations. This looks like political blackmail and creates conditions for unfair victories at the Olympics," chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture Mikhail Degtyarev told Sport Express newspaper. On December 5, the IOC Executive Committee decided that only clean Russian athletes would be able to perform at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang under the Olympic flag. Two special committees of the IOC have reduced the list of 500 applicants to 389 names so far. The final structure of the Russian delegation will be announced on January 28. On December 6, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would not boycott the Games. Pravda.Ru

On Thursday, March 21, the Soyuz-2.1a rocket with the Soyuz MS-25 manned spacecraft was supposed to blast off from launch pad No. 31 (Vostok) at Baikonur Cosmodrome. The rocket launch was aborted at the last moment. The countdown was stopped approximately 20 seconds before the start time. "Attention at the launch complex. The launch was automatically aborted. Bring the units of the launch complex to their original condition. Prepare to be parked for 24 hours,” the announcer of the broadcast hosted by Roscosmos said. The launch was dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut and first man in space Yuri Gagarin.