According to TASS news agency…

The Bolshoi Ballet’s triumphant "diamond" guest tour has been under way at London’s Royal Opera House since July 25, according to TASS news agency. This year it is devoted to the 60th anniversary of the Bolshoi’s first foreign trip to London held on the Covent Garden stage in 1956. This year’s "diamond" program includes Don Quixote by Minkus; Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s "Swan Lake"; the Corsair (reconstructed by Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burlaka in 2007) and a Soviet-era hit called "The Flame of Paris", which Alexey Ratmansky recreated in 2008. "Taming of the Shrew" staged by Jean Christophe Maillot for the Bolshoi will end the "diamond" program. This production has made only one foreign voyage so far - the Principality of Monaco where the choreographer lives. The British public will see "Taming of the Shrew" for the first time. The Bolshoi Ballet’s "diamond season" opened with Don Quixote, which the troupe showed four times. Tchaikovsky’s legendary Swan Lake has been on the stage since July 29. "The Swan Lake" will run for eight nights. Apart from Olga Smirnova and Denis Rodkin, the cast also includes Svetlana Zakharova, Anna Nikulina, Yekaterina Krysanova, Vladislav Lantratov, Semyon Chudin and Ruslan Skvortsov. Yulia Stepanova, one of the dancers who plays the parts of Odette/Odile, will make her debut on the Convent Garden stage together with her partner Artyom Ovcharenko who dances the part of Siegfried. The Bolshoi Ballet’s London tour will last until August 13.

Avqust 3, 2016 2:11

Hungary has always been a happy hunting ground for Lewis Hamilton

Hungary has always been a happy hunting ground for Lewis Hamilton, and so it proved again on Sunday. We take a look at some of the need-to-know statistics…Lewis Hamilton's victory was his fifth of the season and his fifth in Budapest. That means Hamilton now has sole possession of the record for the most wins in Hungary, moving ahead of Michael Schumacher.The Mercedes man is the only current driver (and just the fourth driver in history after Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna) to have scored five or more wins at two different circuits. Montreal is the other circuit Hamilton has won at five times. Hamilton now has 48 career victories, and that moves him just three wins shy of equaling Alain Prost for second on the all-time list. Hamilton now leads the world championship by six points from team mate Nico Rosberg – the first time he has led the drivers' standings this year. The question is, will he become the first driver since Michael Schumacher in 2004 to win the Hungarian Grand Prix and the title in the same season? At his eleventh attempt, Nico Rosberg scored his first podium in Hungary. It's the 22nd different circuit at which the German has finished on the rostrum. For the third year in a row, Daniel Ricciardo finished on the podium. That means a quarter of his 12 F1 rostrums have been scored on Hungarian soil. Max Verstappen's fifth place helped Red Bull collect 25 points to Ferrari's 20. That's the third race in a row – and fifth race this season – that Red Bull have outscored their Italian rivals. Ferrari meanwhile missed the podium for the second race in a row and third time this season. McLaren's Fernando Alonso was easily the most consistent driver in Hungary. The Spaniard finished seventh in the race, having finished seventh in all three practice sessions and in qualifying. Fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz moved up to P10 in the drivers' standings with his third eighth place finish in a row. Nico Hulkenberg scored Force India's first point in Hungary since 2011 with tenth place. With Jenson Button as the only retirement, the Hungary race had the second highest number of finishers this year with 21 drivers making it to the flag. All 22 finished in China, but how many will make it home next week in Germany?

İyul 26, 2016 3:27

“On Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan”…

A plenary session of Azerbaijan's Constitutional Court has reviewed a draft Referendum Act "On Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan" which was submitted by the Azerbaijani President to the Constitutional Court on July 18 this year. In his opening remarks, chairman of the Constitutional Court Farhad Abdullayev announced the composition of the plenary session and gave information about the issue. The event then heard reports from the Constitutional Court judges Kamran Shafiyev and Rafael Gvaladze, who gave detailed information about the amendments to the Constitution proposed by the Azerbaijani President. They noted that in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution amendments to it could be made only through a referendum. Addressing the event, head of the Legislation and Legal Expertise Department of the Presidential Administration Shahin Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan's achievements made thanks to rapid development since the last amendments to the Constitution seven years ago had necessitated a further improvement of the Constitution. He also highlighted the legal basis of the proposed amendments to the Constitution. After the speeches, members of the Constitutional Court plenary session made their decision on the issue. Farhad Abdullayev read out the decision of the Plenum of the Constitutional Court "On Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan."

İyul 26, 2016 3:08