Focus::Daily News
NEWSLINE
EXAMINER. Carnevale di Viareggio in Italy, one of the largest in Europe. Italians love to use any occasion to express their political views. (Read the article by Serenella Leoni)
The New York Times. Conductor Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra offered a significant, if underattended, performance at the Avery Fisher Hall on Friday night. Titled “Persecution and Hope: Masterworks of Conscience,” the program was based on two one-act operas by the Italian modernist Luigi Dallapiccola: “Volo di Notte” (1939) and “Il Prigioniero” (1948). According to the NYT, Dallapiccola, who died in 1975, "has never been able to shed the label '12-tone composer,' which will always put off segments of the audience."
"An avowed anti-Fascist, he became the leading exponent of 12-tone techniques and serialism in Italy. Yet following the example of Alban Berg, Dallapiccola combined serialism with elements of tonality to give his scores an elusive harmonic allure. And you cannot be an Italian composer, it would seem, without acquiring a feeling for Italianate lyricism, which Dallapiccola had in abundance."
CEP NEWS. Italian consumer sentiment continued to improve in February, despite expectations of a decline, the Institute for Studies and Economic Analyses (ISAE) reported on Tuesday.
The Italian seasonally adjusted consumer confidence indicator rose further to 104.1 in February from 102.6 in January, ISAE said. Economists, however, had expected the sentiment indicator to fall back in the month to 101.5. (Read the Article)
WALTAINFO. High level Italian delegation will visit Ethiopia from February 26-27, 2009, Italian ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union said. Ambassador Raffaele de Lutio told WIC today that Italian Secretary of State for Economic Development, Alfredo Urso will lead the delegation comprising more than 40 Italian companies.
The ambassador said the visit underlines Italy’s recognition of the growing strategic role played by Africa and by Ethiopia in particular in the political and economic equilibria at the global level. He said the main objective of the visit is to encourage and facilitate the entry of Italian companies in the markets of Africa and of Ethiopia in particular. (Read the Article)
BLOOMBERG. Telecom Italia SpA, juggling the need to refinance 4.5 billion euros ($5.7 billion) in debt this year with its biggest shareholder’s desire for dividends, may cut the payout as soon as this week. (Read the article by Chiara Remondini)
REUTERS. Italians cut down on buying organic food and drinks in 2008 as economic downturn trimmed appetites for healthier but pricier products with consumption growth slowing by nearly 50 percent, a survey showed on Monday. (Read the Article by Svetlana Kovalyova)
ANSA. Coca-Cola is not ''buying'' Venice, its city council said Monday, reacting to polemics over a planned million-dollar partnership between the drinks giant and the lagoon city. (Read the article)
Csmonitor. Until recently, Italians overwhelmingly ate Italian food, but a decade or more of immigration has seen a surge of new foreign food eateries. Now, one city has declared that enough is enough. The walled, medieval bastion of Lucca, in the heart of Tuscany, wants no more of the kebab shops and Chinese restaurants that have sprung up along the cobbled streets of its centro storico, or historic center. (Read the article by Nick Squires)
REUTERS. Once a year the reserved people of Italy's Piedmont region at the foot of the Alps follow the advice of an old Latin adage and go a bit mad. (Read the article by Valentina Za)
NESDAY, The other face among the Knicks' young core, rookie Danilo Gallinari, might not have the confidence of the coaching staff to play a major role in this playoff push. Gallinari played 23 minutes, mostly in garbage time, and had 10 points. Playing on Italian Heritage Night in a game that was broadcast live on Italian TV and against one of his countrymen, Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani (18 points), Gallinari shot just 3-for-10 from the floor. (Read the article by Alan Hahn)