Italian conductor Muti quits Rome operaItalian conductor Riccardo Muti has thrown in the towel as the primary conductor of the Rome Opera after six years, amid funding problems and strikes.
More than 2.2 billion people 'poor or near-poor': UN reportMore than 2.2 billion people are "poor or near-poor", with financial crises, natural disasters, soaring food prices and violent conflicts threatening to exacerbate the problem, a United Nations report said.
S. Korea postpones rocket launch to 2013: official South Korea has postponed its third bid to put a satellite in orbit until next year, after a technical problem forced the cancellation of last week's scheduled launch.