After working a near miracle with the Russian men's national football team, Guus Hiddink turned his attention to the country's women ahead of Euro 2009. He has held an open training session with the squad at Moscow's Cherkizovo stadium. The Russian women's team has made the finals of the Euros for the first time in eight years. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/0034542/

On the first anniversary of the beginning of the war in South Ossetia, lots of people in the region are taking time to reflect. Silent tribute and bitter accusation marked the anniversary. The war killed at least 390 civilians and at its height displaced more than 100,000. An unfulfilled ceasefire pact, sporadic gunfire and the withdrawal of monitors from pro-Western Georgia's two rebel regions keep alive the risk of renewed war. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/0034444 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDDUHy4ViX0

On August 2 Madonna has given her only concert in St. Petersburg as part of her 'Sticky and Sweet' tour. The pop star performed on St. Pete's Palace Square. It was raining, but the show was still fabulous! http://zvezdanews.ru/video/0034231/

Strizhi (Swifts) and Russkie Vityazi (Russian Knights) are preparing for the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2009. They are the best aerobatic performance demonstrator teams. MAKS has earned a great reputation among both Russian and foreign specialists. It became top-ranked ground for business intercourse and for concluding mutually beneficial contracts. Thousands of people will gather in Zhukovskiy to see unique aircrafts and rocketry, take a view of unequalled skill of aerobatic teams and feel the great atmosphere of the aviation festival. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/0034557/

Britney Spears came to Russia. The concerts in St.Petersburg and Moscow are a part of Britneys global tour The Circus Starring: Britney Spears launched in support of her latest sixth studio album, Circus. It has already been named among the five best CDs in the charts of seven countries worldwide, 3,500,000 copies have already been sold. Britney Spears the American pop singer and actress, has established a number of records in the history of modern music: over 80,000,000 CDs were sold in less than 10 years; seven singles have become number one worldwide hits; four albums successively appeared in first place of the Billboard Top 200. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0033632/

On July 19, more than a hundred cars raced along the banks of the Moskva River and around the Kremlin in downtown Moscow during the Formula One Bavaria Moscow City Racing 2009 event. The race started an hour late because of an accident involving a Bugatti car that crashed into a fence. Photo: Formula race cars parading on the Kremlin Embankment during the Formula One Bavaria Moscow City Racing 2009 event. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0033644/

One of internationally acclaimed sculptor Antony Gormley’s most celebrated works, Domain Field, based on moulds taken from the bodies of over 200 volunteers, goes on show at The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow from July to September. The spectacular installation, featuring 287 Domain sculptures, will fill the main section of The Garage space. The work was originally commissioned by BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in the UK in 2003.Volunteers aged from two to eighty-five years were moulded in plaster by teams of specially trained staff. These moulds were then used to construct the individual sculptures by welding the steel elements together inside each mould. Each piece was constructed from stainless steel bars in eight different lengths. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0033540/

Britney Spears came to Russia. The concerts in St.Petersburg and Moscow are a part of Britney’s global tour ‘The Circus Starring: Britney Spears’ launched in support of her latest sixth studio album, ‘Circus’. It has already been named among the five best CDs in the charts of seven countries worldwide, 3,500,000 copies have already been sold. Britney Spears – the American pop singer and actress, has established a number of records in the history of modern music: over 80,000,000 CDs were sold in less than 10 years; seven singles have become number one worldwide hits; four albums successively appeared in first place of the Billboard Top 200. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0033632/

http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0033334/ Placido Domingo, one of the “Three Tenors” dream team which elevated football into operatic art, insists that “if I rest, I rust”. And, true to his word, the 68-year-old maintains a packed performing schedule while directing two major American opera houses and even finding time to learn new parts. Ten years ago, at an age when most stars are already content to rest on their laurels, Domingo opted to learn Russian and tackle Hermann from Tchaikovsky’s “Queen of Spades”, one of the heaviest roles in the repertoire. Sunday’s concert at the oligarchs’ retreat in Barvikha is likely was lighter fare. With a vast repertoire to draw on he’s unlikely to suffer from any shortage of material, while Argentinian soprano Virginia Tola has sung with him a few duets. Like most things at Barvikha it’s not cheap, with top-priced seats going for 99,000. But a personal audience with a living legend tends to cost.

Along with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, President Obama is now a matryoshka, a traditional Russian nesting doll. You know the kind that have doll after doll inside each other until you get to the tiny-doll center. Both leaders will meet in London tomorrow during the G20 economic summit; it will Obama's first trip overseas as president

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic Russian theatre of opera and ballet. On July 01, 1873 The Big Theatre has been opened in Saint-Petersburg. Later it was renamed into The Mariinsky Theatre. It became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0032819/

Japanese Puppet Play 'Love Suicides at Sonezaki' is now being shown in Moscow at the Chekhov International Theatre Festival. 'The Love Suicides at Sonezaki', first performed in Kyoto in 1703, is the work of Chikamatsu Monzaemon, considered by many to be the 'Japanese Shakespeare' and the greatest dramatist in Japanese literature. A tragic story of forbidden love, disgrace and ultimate sacrifice, 'The Love Suicides at Sonezaki' was written specifically for the bunraku, or puppet theatre, a form of Japanese classical theater in which puppeteers operate on stage with dialogue coming from just off stage. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/0032761/

'Tour of the Universe' by groundbreaking electro legends Depeche Mode has started! The trek is in support of the group's 12th studio album, Sounds of the Universe, which was released in April. The first leg of the trek was marred when lead singer Dave Gahan was struck by a severe bout of gastroenteritis, which occurred before the band were to take to the stage in Athens. Sixteen dates were subsequently cancelled or postponed. Nonetheless on June, 27th the band played their show in Paris, France. It was fantastic! http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0032706/

The 2009 World Press Photo exhibition is touring the world and is currently on display in Moscow, Russia. World Press Photo aims to support professional press photography on a wide international scale. Promotional activities include an annual contest, exhibitions, the stimulation of photojournalism through educational programs, and creating greater visibility for press photography through a variety of publications. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0032640/

One hundred years ago this month impresario Sergei Diaghilev presided in Paris over the first of his 'Russian Seasons', the results of which were to cause one of the most profound revolutions ever in the world of dance. The 'Russian Seasons' have brought Russian culture to the attention of everyone. Ballet companies all around the world are marking this anniversary with festivals and special performances. This month Diaghilev’s troupe is back to Paris! http://zvezdanews.ru/video/0031424/

Russia’s Sukhoi Super-Jet-100 passenger plane was presented at the air show in Le Bourget. Sukhoil Director-General Mikhail Pogosyan said that the number of orders for the plane might grow to 150 by the end of the year. He also said that the flight testing of the plane would be completed by the end of the year, and the first four planes would be handed over to the customers – Armenia’s Armavia airline and Russia’s Aeroflot. The SuperJet is the first new Russian passenger plane over the past 20 years. Sukhoi SuperJet-100 integrates the world's best industry practices and solutions. Its technical and operational performance make the product fully marketable and capable of taking a solid share in the highly competitive global market. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0032287/

Academy Award-winner Adrien Brody ('The Pianist') came to the Moscow International Film Festival to promote his movie ‘Cadillac Records’. ‘Cadillac Records’ is an American musical biopic written and directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the influential Chicago-based record-company executive Leonard Chess, and the singers who recorded for Chess Records. The film stars Adrien Brody as Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Columbus Short as Little Walter, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, and Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0032262/

Cirque du Soleil, which has grown into one of Canada's best-known cultural exports, is celebrating its 25th anniversary all around the world. This year Cirque du Soleil has reclaimed its Guinness world record for the most number of people simultaneously walking on stilts, to mark its silver anniversary. For example, almost 900 people have gathered in Moscow to walk on stilts. Everyone could take part in this funny flash mob! The stilt walkers (1926 in total) also gathered in Montreal, Orlando, Las Vegas, Lisbon, Macau, Tokyo and Fortaleza. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0032192/

The gorgeously expressive Aurelia Thieree, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, has brought to Moscow Chekhov Theatre Festival her show ‘Aurélia's Oratorio’. It has won high praise in Europe and the U.S., with London's Guardian newspaper calling Thierrée ‘an elegant waif with impossibly flexible limbs and a great line in sleight of hand’. Others have compared the show to Edward Gorey tales and the films of Tim Burton. The stage is a flurry of red drapes which give birth to strange and fantastical furniture-creatures of velvet and vase, coats come to life to dance and fight; a giant maternal puppet rocks Aurelia to sleep in the snow before she is kissed and beaten by tiny, sinister wooden puppets. It is a world where toys and shadows come to life, clocks are played as musical instruments and people are taken flying by their kites. Aurelia’s celebrated grandfather, who started out as an acrobat in English variety halls, died before she was born. But, Thierrée says, ‘like with every great artist and genius, you do feel his work inspires you. Even if I didn't know he was our grandfather, I love his movies like many people do’. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/no_comment/0032149/

'Home', an environmental documentary about Earth produced and directed by Luc Besson and Yann Arthus-Bertrand, has been released in 50 countries on Friday to mark World Environment Day. This video shows the premiere of the movie on Sparrow Hills (Vorobyovy Gory) in Moscow, Russia. Thousand of people gathered there to watch the documentary. The movie will also be available on YouTube in French, English, Spanish, German, Russian and Portuguese through June 14 at youtube.com/homeproject. http://zvezdanews.ru/video/0031733/