Shicoff Pulls Out of Salzburg Festival
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American tenor Neil Shicoff, who was overlooked for the position of director of Vienna's State Opera, has pulled out of Austria's renowned Salzburg Festival.Shicoff, in a letter to festival director Juergen Flimm, said he needed a break to rethink his priorities and distance himself from 'intrigues and disappointments.' A copy of the letter, written in German, was provided to media outlets Tuesday by festival organizers.Shicoff, 58, a friend of Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, was deemed a favorite in the running to become the next director of the State Opera. Read more
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American producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is also the co-founder of DreamWorks SKG, was kicked out of the Four Seasons Hotel after a tiff with a staff member.
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LONDON : Formula One was thrown into turmoil after US auto giant Ford announced that it was pulling out of the sport from the end of this season.
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The Hollywood director resigned this week as artistic adviser to the Beijing games to protest China's Darfur policy.
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French Open winner Anastasia Myskina has pulled out of the Generali Ladies tournament because of the flu, organizers said Monday.
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Greek Olympic 200 meters champion Costas  Kenteris said on Wednesday he was withdrawing from the Athens  Games "out of a sense of responsibility."
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NEW YORK  - Jon Stewart has pulled out  of an entertainment gala -- only it's not the Oscars. The  comedian has withdrawn from a hosting gig at a Paley Center  fundraiser honoring Viacom chieftain Sumner Redstone under  circumstances that might be related to the 3-month-old labor  stoppage.
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Greek Olympic 200 metres champion Costas Kenteris and his fellow Greek Olympic silver medallist Katerina Thanou say they are withdrawing from the Athens Games.
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ROME  - The president of Turin&#39;s organising commmittee (TOROC) for the 2006 winter Olympic Games resigned in protest at what he sees as the Italian government&#39;s meddling in the organisation of the Games.
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Conductor James Levine canceled his weekend appearances at the Verbier Festival, citing health.
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BEERSHEBA: Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi is considering pulling out of a presidential race to avoid splitting his mainstream Fatah faction, an Israeli-Arab lawmaker said after visiting him in jail.
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The artistic director of the Glimmerglass Opera is stepping down.
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An Mozart opera featuring a beheaded Prophet Muhammad and other religious figures is scrapped over security fears.
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The president of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games has decided to resign saying he no longer has the support of the Italian government.
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JOHANNESBURG - A small group of pro-Palestinian supporters were escorted out of the Sandton Convention Centre here during a protest against a visit by Israeli Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday.
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BAGHDAD, March 7 -- A small Shiite political party on Wednesday pulled out of the governing Shiite parliamentary bloc that put Iraq's prime minister in power.
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A relative of Mahatma Gandhi has resigned from a peace institute after drawing condemnation for comments he made in an online forum that Israel and Jews "are the biggest players" in a global culture of violence.