Nokia plans board of directors refresh, chairman to step down

Following on from today’s mixed bag of Nokia financials, the Espoo-based company will see some changes on its directorial board, after its Annual General Meeting in a few months. As forecast last year, non-executive chairman Jorma Ollila joined Nokia in 1985 and has been on the board through Nokia’s explosive growth into the world’s biggest handset manufacturer — and its more recent troubles. He will leave the board alongside more recent members Bengt Holmström and Per Karlsson, while existing board member Risto Siilasmaa is currently pegged to take the helm once the new board of directors is formed. New candidates earmarked for the board include Bruce Brown, of Procter and Gamble, Mårten Mickos, CEO of Eucalyptus Systems and independent corporate advisor Elizabeth Nelson. The whole Nokia nitty-gritty awaits at the source below.

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2nd day of mourning for Paterno to end with burial (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? The second day of a three-day period of public mourning for the late Joe Paterno will culminate with the funeral and burial service for the Hall of Fame football coach who became the face of Penn State University.

Hundreds ? if not thousands ? of alumni, residents and students are expected to attend a four-hour visitation Wednesday morning to begin a slate of events that will end with a funeral service in the afternoon that the family has made private.

The 85-year-old Paterno died Sunday of lung cancer. He had been ousted just days before learning of his diagnosis in November, forced out of his job in the wake of child sex-abuse charges against a former assistant.

This week, mourners are focusing on the full body of accomplishments and philanthropy compiled by Paterno over his 46-year tenure as the Nittany Lions’ coach.

“His legacy is still going to be filled with the great things that he did. Look at this place,” said Tom Sherman, a 1969 graduate from Johnstown, Pa. Before tearing up, Sherman said he attended Paterno’s first game as head coach in 1966.

“It’s like he’s part of your life. I admire that guy so much.”

Thousands more waited in line Tuesday on an overcast winter afternoon for the first day of visitation at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, where Paterno family members regularly attended services.

Inside the hall, the coach’s body lay in a closed, hardwood casket topped by a spray of white roses. About six feet away sat a stylized black-and-white picture of the man who became lovingly known on campus as “JoePa,” smiling and peering out through his trademark thick-rimmed glasses.

Paterno’s casket had an “honor guard” of two Penn State players ? one past and one present. Some mourners stopped for a moment of reflection, or to genuflect in the interfaith hall.

Others fought back tears and sniffles. The only other sounds were the occasional clicks of news photographers taking pictures.

Paterno won 409 games and two national championships in a career admired by peers as much for its longevity as its success. Paterno also took as much pride in the program’s graduation rates, often at or close to the top of the Big Ten.

“The passion, the love that he gave almost gave you a sense that you wanted to give it back to him,” Penn State men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers said after escorting his team to the worship hall Tuesday evening. “We’re forever indebted to him and we will continue to work as hard as we can.”

On Thursday, the school’s basketball arena will be the site of a public service called “A Memorial for Joe.” Tickets on Tuesday were quickly snapped up for the event, even though there was a two-per-person limit for those ordering.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_penn_state_paterno

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Israeli film industry is a surprising powerhouse (omg!)

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2012 file photo from right: Israeli film director Joseph Cedar, actor Shlomo Bar Aba, and producer Moshe Edry stand together during a press conference after the film "Footnote", a mordant tale of rivalry between father-son Talmudic scholars was nominated in the Academy Awards' best foreign-language film category, in Tel Aviv, Israel.The budgets are bare-bones and the talent pool is limited, but little Israel has emerged as a surprising powerhouse in the foreign film industry. The Israeli film "Footnote," up for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film this year, is Israel's fourth such nomination in the past five years _ crowning Israel in that five-year period with more nominations than any other country.(AP Photo/Dan Balilty, Files)

JERUSALEM (AP) ? The budgets are bare-bones and the talent pool is limited, but Israel has emerged as a surprising powerhouse in the foreign film industry.

The Israeli film “Footnote,” up for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film this year, is Israel’s fourth such nomination in the past five years, giving Israel more nominations during that period than any other country.

It’s an indication to the renaissance of Israeli cinema, which has grown from a fledgling industry with poor cinematography and low box office sales to a darling of world film festivals. That’s in spite ? or perhaps because ? of the country’s troubled international reputation, due to its lengthy conflict with the Arab world.

The last three Israeli films that made it to the Oscar shortlist all mine the country’s troubles with its Arab neighbors. “Beaufort,” nominated in 2008, and “Waltz with Bashir,” nominated a year after, both explored Israeli soldiers’ experiences in Lebanon. “Ajami,” the 2010 nominee, centers on Arab-Jewish tensions in a violence-ridden neighborhood near Tel Aviv.

This year’s nomination went to an Israeli film featuring a more internal conflict ? two professors of Talmud, a father and son, dueling for academic prestige and a coveted national prize.

“It’s a badge of honor for Israel,” said Moshe Edery, producer of “Footnote,” at a news conference after the Oscar nomination. “It’s Israel’s best business card around the world, especially these days.”

Israeli cinema was long an embarrassment. Cheap comic melodramas were the norm in the 1960s and 1970s. Called “bourekas films” ? the Israeli equivalent of spaghetti Westerns ? they dealt with ethnic stereotypes of European and Middle Eastern Jews.

Sick of those tired tropes, a group of Israeli moviemakers created an Israeli national movie fund in 1979, hopefully named the “Israeli Fund to Encourage Quality Films.”

With meager funding from studios and other private entities, filmmakers rely on public funds. But even with help from the new fund, the industry still floundered for two decades.

In 1995, the government cut public funding for cinema in half, leaving enough money to produce only five films a year. Three years later the industry hit an all-time low: Only 0.3 percent of Israeli moviegoers bought tickets to Hebrew-language cinema.

The national film body took on a new name, the Israel Film Fund, and in 2000 it begged Israel’s parliament to save Israeli cinema. It did, boosting the budget to $10 million a year for investment in feature films, mandating that young filmmakers get a chance to make themselves known.

It’s what gave Joseph Cedar, the Israeli director of the Oscar-nominated films “Footnote” and “Beaufort,” his first big break fresh out of film school: The Israel Film Fund supported his first feature, “Time of Favor,” which debuted in 2000.

“We didn’t know him, but he had enthusiasm. There was something about his passion,” said Katriel Schory, executive director of the national fund. “We took a chance.”

In the past, “cinema funds would not support a filmmaker’s first feature,” said Renen Schorr, founder and director of the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in Jerusalem. “Today, Israel wants young people to make their first films.”

The boost in public funding has dovetailed with investments in Israeli cinema by European and Canadian producers, totaling about $15 million and increasing the number of films Israel puts out annually to nearly 20, according to the Film Fund.

Israel’s television industry has also blossomed in recent years. After cable channels and a commercial TV station broke the monopoly and monotony of a lone state-run channel in the early 90s, there was a sudden need for new TV content, spurring competition and creativity among local screenwriters.

Now Hollywood TV executives are taking notice, adapting Israeli shows for American audiences. Showtime’s hit thriller “Homeland” is adapted from the Israeli drama “Prisoners of War,” the NBC game show “Who’s Still Standing” originated in Israel, and other Israeli adaptations are currently in development for American TV.

Despite the surge in budgets, funding is a fraction of public money available for filmmakers in European countries.

While Israel has scored some Academy Award nominations in recent years, it hasn’t won. None of the 10 Israeli films that made the best foreign language film shortlist over the years has won the big prize.

Now the focus is on Cedar, director of “Footnote,” but he told reporters that the coveted Oscar isn’t the only measure of success for a filmmaker.

That is exactly the lesson that his Oscar-nominated film imparts, he said.

“‘Footnote’ deals with the question of what happens when, while you’re living your daily life, a prize is offered, which really takes over your moral reasoning and changes your perspective and sometimes completely destroys your perspective,” Cedar said, summarizing the main plot line of his movie.

___

Follow Daniel Estrin: www.twitter.com/danielestrin

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_israeli_film_industry_surprising_powerhouse064723204/44323369/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/israeli-film-industry-surprising-powerhouse-064723204.html

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U.S. lawmaker may pursue limited China bill (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? An influential Republican lawmaker said on Wednesday he may pursue “narrowly targeted” legislation to ensure the Commerce Department can impose countervailing duties on subsidized imports from China and other “non-market economies.”

“I am willing to consider targeted legislation that ensures our countervailing duty laws can be used to protect U.S. employers and workers from unfairly subsidized imports from countries like China,” House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp said in a statement.

A recent U.S. court ruling struck down the Commerce Department’s ability to apply to countervailing duties to non-market economies, saying that Congress needed to change the law for the department to do that.

Camp emphasized that any legislation to address the ruling “would have to be narrowly targeted … and be able to pass the House and Senate without complications.”

However, the prospect of the Republicans moving any China bill is likely to invite attempts by Democrats to attach a measure to address China’s currency practices.

Last year, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a bill to pressure China on its currency, which many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say is undervalued and gives Chinese manufacturers an unfair price advantage.

But House Republican leaders have sat on the bill, which they said could start a damaging trade war.

Former President George W. Bush’s administration, responding to pleas of domestic producers, changed longstanding policy to allow countervailing, or anti-subsidy, duties to be applied to goods from non-market economies.

Previously, the Commerce Department had taken the position it was too difficult to calculate subsidy levels in economies where the state plays a dominant role in setting prices.

However, U.S. industry groups persuaded the Bush administration that was no longer the case with China.

(Reporting By Doug Palmer; editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/pl_nm/us_usa_china_trade

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Driver rams bus down busy Indian streets, kills 9

An Indian worker helps guide a damaged bus back up as it is removed from the scene after being driven into numerous vehicles and pedestrians in the city of Pune, central India, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. An on-duty bus driver went on a rampage on the crowded streets of the central Indian city Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than two dozen as he mowed down pedestrians and rammed other vehicles, witnesses said. (AP Photo)

An Indian worker helps guide a damaged bus back up as it is removed from the scene after being driven into numerous vehicles and pedestrians in the city of Pune, central India, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. An on-duty bus driver went on a rampage on the crowded streets of the central Indian city Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than two dozen as he mowed down pedestrians and rammed other vehicles, witnesses said. (AP Photo)

People look at a damaged auto-rickshaw at the scene where a bus was driven into numerous vehicles and pedestrians in the city of Pune, central India, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. An on-duty bus driver went on a rampage on the crowded streets of the central Indian city Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than two dozen as he mowed down pedestrians and rammed other vehicles, witnesses said. (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI (AP) ? A bus driver mowed down pedestrians and rammed cars, scooters and food stalls in a rampage through crowded Indian streets Wednesday that killed nine people and injured more than two dozen.

Police chased the bus for an hour through the streets of the central city of Pune, with traffic officers firing on it in an attempt to stop it, before they managed to arrest the 30-year-old driver. He is being held on murder charges.

The licensed bus driver had driven his route as normal Tuesday, but on Wednesday morning jumped into another driver’s bus and took off, police said.

“He just went berserk,” slamming into people, cars, school buses, scooters and vegetable stands, Pune Police Commissioner Meeran Borwankar said.

Pedestrians tried to flee, with some throwing children out of the way of the oncoming bus, she said.

“He went on ramming vehicles, hitting pedestrians. He was in such a dangerous mood,” Borwankar said.

Food stalls were reduced to piles of squashed produce and broken beams, while at least 40 cars were crushed.

The injured were being treated in three hospitals.

Police have ruled out terrorism as a possible motive but were seeking more answers in questioning the driver, Borwankar said.

The mayor of Pune, which is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Mumbai, appealed for calm.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-25-AS-India-Deadly-Bus-Rampage/id-3b69d033b3ee491993c47c661dac0f52

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Michelle Obama reports for campaign duty (Daily Caller)

Michelle Obama is playing a growing role in her husband?s reelection campaign, partly as a fundraiser, but especially as a cheerleader for her husband?s?female supporters.

The first lady attended at least two Jan. 26 fundraisers in Florida, where she ticked off a list of the president?s progressive accomplishments, promised more government intervention and ended with urgent appeals for audiences to join the campaign, according to the White House transcripts of her remarks.

Roughly 250 people paid a minimum of $500 to attend a lunchtime fundraiser in Sarasota, according to the transcript.

MRS. OBAMA: ?So let me ask you one final question:? Are you in?

AUDIENCE:? Yes!

MRS. OBAMA: Wait. Are you in?

AUDIENCE:? Yes!

MRS. OBAMA:? Because I am so in.? (Laughter.)? I am so very in.

Prior to the 2010 mid-term election blowout, the first lady played only a minor role in her husband?s campaign plans. But her role has increased markedly since then.

Mrs. Obama has attended 17 fundraisers organized by the Democratic National Committee since June 2011, including five in Florida, three in California, and others in Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Illinois and Louisiana.

On Jan. 11 she attended two campaign fundraisers in Virginia on the same day that the president hosted one in their home town of Chicago.

Next week she is slated for a California trip, where she will attend two fundraisers and appear on two television shows. One is Jay Leno?s ?Tonight Show,? and the other is ?The Ellen DeGeneres Show,? whose host is a vocal supporter of the president.

The first lady has also appeared at more events that showcase her non-political role in Washington. Since November, for example, she has headlined a ?Toys for Tots? drive, a job fair, several events for soldiers and their families, a trouble-free appearance on the iCarly kids? TV show and a quick appearance at a NASCAR rally.

Mrs. Obama is well-regarded by most Americans but engenders animosity in some, owing to the anonymous but corroborated tales about her clashes with White House officials including former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and former press secretary Robert Gibbs.

For example, in a Marist poll of 1,042 registered voters in October,?63 percent had a positive impression of her while just 21 percent had an unfavorable view. Her support among Democratic women, especially African-American women, is likely far higher.

Thursday?s trip included two fundraisers at expensive mansions in Palm Beach and Sarasota, plus a public event at a Tampa supermarket that featured a Hispanic food company and an audience that included numerous Hispanic and African-American children.

The trip put the first lady, and her politically correct healthy-food campaign, on Florida TV alongside the increasingly aggressive and hard-nosed GOP primary candidates.

She pushed a very ambitious progressive agenda at both fundraisers, arguing that university-trained professionals in government should protect people from corporate executives and from their own mistakes in the free market.

?We know that in this country we rise and we fall together. ? We know that if we make the right choices, if we have the right priorities, we can ensure that everyone ? everyone ? gets a fair shake and everyone has a chance to get ahead,? she told her Sarasota audience.

The Palm Beach event was held at the $40 million Palm Beach home of Howard and Michele Kessler, who are major contributors to Democratic causes.

The Sarasota event was held at the ocean-view home of Richard and Caren Lobo. He?s a former chairman of the Florida Public Broadcasting Service and CEO of the PBS station that serves Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.

She told similar stories about President Obama to both audiences.

?Barack has a memory like a steel trap. ? If he?s had a few minutes with you and a decent conversation, he might not remember your name but he will never forget your story. ??That is where Barack gets his passion.? That is where he gets his toughness and his fight.?

She also tried out a few cautious jokes, telling her Sarasota audience that ?we all know that this isn?t just about one extraordinary man ? although I admit I?m a little biased.? I think he?s kind of cute.?

But at both events, she amped up her appeal for support and help.

?We don?t have time,? she told the Palm Beach audience of 140 donors. ?We need you fired up and ready to go and ready to make it happen. ? So I am counting on seeing all of you out there, doing whatever it is you do best ? taking your neighbors and shaking them a little bit. (Laughter.) Going to church and making sure people are registered to vote.? Yelling from the rooftops.? Pulling women aside ? just shaking them. (Laughter.) We need you.?

That?s a much stronger appeal than what she offered donors at a Pasadena mansion last June. ?I hope that you all are ready to go ? (applause) ? because it is going to take all of our energy to keep moving towards the future,? she told the wealthy California audience.

It was also stronger than her September pitch to a lunchtime fundraiser in Cape Elizabeth, Maine: ?We are going to work our butts off to make this right.? So we need you behind us.? Thank you so much, Maine.? Thank you.? Let?s get going!? Let?s get to work!?

The Palm Beach audience got the same urgent appeal as the Sarasota donors, some 10 months before her husband stands for re-election amid economic uncertainty and a growing portfolio of White House scandals.

?This is going to be hard,? Mrs. Obama said. ?We can?t take anything for granted and we need everyone ? every single one of you ? to be laser-focused, creating those smart women. Right? (Applause.) Building up that base. Telling people the truth of who this president is and what he?s done for so many across the country and around the world. ? We have to get it done.?

Join the conversation on The Daily Caller

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Michelle Obama reports for campaign duty

Wolf to Newt: Should moon colony be granted US statehood? [VIDEO]

WaPo Magazine editor: Pat Buchanan’s book like ‘someone from the KKK had written it’

Heating and AC distributors file petition against Energy Dept.

Alveda King: Defund Planned Parenthood, MLK was pro-life [VIDEO]

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/dailycaller/20120127/pl_dailycaller/michelleobamareportsforcampaignduty

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At Sundance, “Love Free Or Die,” Documentary About Bishop Gene Robinson Takes Center Stage

By Lisa Schencker
Salt Lake Tribune

(RNS) It’s been years since the incident, but Bishop Gene Robinson’s heart still races when he sees it on film.

Robinson, the Episcopal Church’s first openly bishop, was preaching in London when a man in the audience stood and began yelling at him. The heckler waved a motorcycle helmet in his hand as he ranted. Robinson silently wondered if he was hiding a gun or a bomb beneath it.

Ultimately, the man was escorted from the church, but the moment reminded everyone, including Robinson, of the risks of taking a stand.

It’s one of many moments — some suspenseful, some inspiring, some heartbreaking — captured in “Love Free or Die,” a documentary about Robinson that’s premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

“As far as we’ve come in terms of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, we still have a long way to go, particularly in the central part of the country,” Robinson said in an interview.

“If my story can help a young boy or girl in their teens believe they can have a wonderful and productive life and family, then it’s worth my putting up with a film crew following me around for two years in order to comfort and inspire them.”

The film follows Robinson as the church grapples with how to handle lesbian and gay issues. Robinson’s election brought to a head divisions between liberal and conservative Episcopalians, and between the U.S. church and more conservative members of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Filmmakers followed Robinson to England in 2008, where he was excluded from the Anglicans’ Lambeth Conference of bishops. And they followed him to the Episcopal Church’s 2009 General Convention, where leaders voted to allow blessings of same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships (where legal) and allow gay men and women to become bishops.

Along the way, they interviewed Robinson, his family and other church leaders, many of whom supported his quest for equality and some of whom did not. In one scene, a woman sobs that she is torn between wanting to do what’s best for the people around her while also remaining true to Scripture.

Filmmakers also interviewed other gay church leaders, including former Utah Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles, who came out after he retired.

“It’s like trying to put on a suit that doesn’t fit,” Charles says in the documentary of trying to hide his sexual orientation.

Sandra Itkoff, the film’s producer, said she was surprised how many people still live cloaked existences.

“Gay people live in many of our communities in seemingly comfortable situations,” Itkoff said, “and we don’t remember how precarious many aspects of their lives really are.”

Robinson sees himself as part of a new generation of church leaders who want to be open and honest about whom they are. He wants to show that people need not choose between their faith and their sexuality.

“The church asks its clergy to climb into the pulpit every week and call people to a life of integrity, but for countless generations it’s asked its gay and lesbian clergy to live a life without integrity while calling on other people to do it, and that just seems crazy to me,” Robinson said. “I think people are drawn to a religion that supports integrity and honesty and openness.”

It’s a message Robinson and filmmakers know could resonate, especially in Utah, home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which opposes same-sex marriage.

“My hope,” Robinson said, “would be the Mormon church and other conservative churches would see the difference between civil rights for LGBT (lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender) people and whatever theological stance the church might take.”

Director Macky Alston called Robinson a “historic figure?? who has inspired many to see homosexuality in a new light. Though Alston knew Robinson before they started filming, the bishop still took his breath away at times, particularly during the clash in the London church.

“Tears were just streaming down my face because I had come to already love the guy,” Alston said, “but it was also the moment I recognized that he’s put his life on the line and made himself entirely vulnerable for my freedom.”

It’s a vulnerability Robinson has lived with for some time, and he knows this film could raise his profile even higher. But the exposure doesn’t bother Robinson. He welcomes it.

“My husband, Mark, and I had to decide very early on about the safety issue,” Robinson said, “and what we decided was if you live your life in fear, it’s not much of a life worth living. So we decided to put that in God’s hands and do what we felt was right and speak out whenever we could.”

(Lisa Schencker writes for The Salt Lake Tribune.)

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/sundance-love-free-or-die-bishop-gene-robinson_n_1229291.html

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Lopez bows out of Venezuela presidential race (AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela ? Opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez bowed out of Venezuela’s presidential race on Tuesday, saying he will support front-runner Henrique Capriles Radonski.

The announcement gives a significant boost to Capriles, who has a commanding lead in the polls ahead of the Feb. 12 opposition primary, which will choose a single challenger to face President Hugo Chavez in the Oct. 7 presidential election.

“You will be the next president,” Lopez said at a news conference with Capriles. The two embraced and raised their arms before a cheering crowd. “In me, he will have a great ally,” Lopez added.

Lopez, a former Caracas district mayor, has been trailing in recent polls. He said that with his departure, “unity is strengthened” within the opposition.

Capriles, an athletic 39-year-old, has captured support among Venezuelans by presenting himself as a capable manager and pledging to solve problems such as rampant crime, unemployment and 27-percent inflation.

Capriles has tended to avoid direct verbal confrontations with Chavez and has described his politics as center-left. He likens his approach to that of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who promoted pro-business policies while funding expansive social programs that have made him popular among the poor.

Capriles is currently the governor of Miranda state, which is the country’s second-most populous state and includes parts of Caracas as well as largely impoverished towns in the surrounding hills. He served as mayor of the capital’s mostly middle-class district of Baruta before he was elected governor in 2008, defeating a close ally of Chavez. He is also a former congressman.

“We need all your good ideas here,” Capriles told Lopez during the news conference. “We both have the same dream.”

Both leaders repeated Capriles’ campaign slogan, “There is a way.”

Chavez has been in office for 13 years and is seeking another six-year term in the October election. His approval rating recently has been above 50 percent.

Lopez had gone ahead with his presidential bid despite a Supreme Court ruling in October that had upheld a ban on him holding office yet also said he could be a candidate.

Lopez is on a list of hundreds of politicians who have been barred from holding office in the past decade due to corruption investigations, but he insists he is innocent and notes he was never sentenced in a court.

In its decision, the Supreme Court upheld a decision by the country’s top anti-corruption official disqualifying Lopez from holding office until 2014. The Supreme Court also dismissed as “unfeasible” a decision by the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights that had sided with Lopez and said his political rights had been violated.

“Lopez was running far behind in the polls, and the Supreme Court’s defiance of the decision by the Inter-American Court left a big cloud of uncertainty over Lopez’s future, even if he were to come out ahead,” said Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin America program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. “Capriles has been the front-runner for some time, so the endorsement will continue to bolster his campaign.”

Lopez’s departure leaves a field of five candidates ahead of the Feb. 12 primary. Trailing Capriles in the polls have been Pablo Perez, the governor of western Zulia state, and congresswoman Maria Corina Machado. Also running are Diego Arria, a former Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations, and politician Pablo Medina.

Capriles urged Venezuelans to turn out in large numbers for the primary vote. As for Lopez’s support, Capriles said: “This is an alliance with a view fixed on Oct. 7.”

____

Associated Press writer Ian James in Caracas contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_opposition

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Country music great Haggard recovering from pneumonia (omg!)

Country music performer Merle Haggard walks the red carpet at the California Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the California Museum in Sacramento, California December 14, 2010. REUTERS/Kevin Bartram

NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) – Country singer Merle Haggard, who was admitted to a Georgia hospital last week after illness forced him to cancel a show, was recovering from a host of health issues discovered while he was being treated for pneumonia, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Haggard was admitted to hospital on January 17, when illness forced him to cancel a show in Macon, Georgia, just moments before taking the stage. He later said that being hospitalized “probably saved my life.”

The 74-year-old singer, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, is recovering from double-pneumonia but was also being treated for a number of serious ailments that doctors discovered while he was hospitalized.

Haggard’s pneumonia is “almost completely clear, while he is recovering from three stomach ulcers, the removal of eight polyps from his colon and diverticulitis in his esophagus,” which were discovered by the Macon medical staff, according to his Los Angeles-based spokesperson Tresa Redburn.

“He will be back up and running in 30 days,” said Redburn, adding that Haggard would be in the hospital for “at least a few more days.”

“Thanks to the wonderful people all over the world that prayed their special prayers,” Redburn quoted Haggard as saying.

“I’m a new man. Another special thanks to the folks of Macon, Georgia, for their kindness, their intelligence and probably saving my life,” he said.

Haggard had to cancel the remainder of his January tour and was planning on beginning his performance schedule again in late February.

With influences ranging from Lefty Frizzell to Bob Wills to Jimmie Rodgers, Haggard is an architect of country music’s so-called “Bakersfield Sound.” He is best known for songs like “Mama Tried,” “Okie from Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side of Me.”

(Reporting By Tim Ghianni; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_country_music_great_haggard_recovering_pneumonia061731044/44295994/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/country-music-great-haggard-recovering-pneumonia-061731044.html

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