Argentina enters new political era as Kirchner dies - Celebrities

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Argentines paid tribute on Thursday to former President Nestor Kirchner, whose death rallied markets but robbed his wife and successor President Cristina Fernandez of her closest adviser.
Kirchner, 60, was Argentina's most powerful politician and a leading contender for next year's presidential election. His sudden death ended the Kirchners' apparent plan to continue alternating in power, but she could run again.
Argentine stock and bond prices rose a day after Kirchner died of a heart attack at the couple's weekend retreat in Patagonia, boosted by confidence among investors who disliked his unorthodox economic policies.
Fernandez, dressed in black, was joined by South American presidents, her two children and local celebrities, including former soccer star Diego Maradona, at a wake in the presidential palace.
Wearing dark sunglasses, her face etched with grief, the president patted her heart with her right hand as she smiled sadly and nodded toward friends and political allies who filed past her husband's coffin.
"Strength, Cristina, strength," some called out.
Outside in the square facing the famous pink palace, crowds waved the national flag and carried banners bearing messages of support. They stood about a dozen deep around the presidential palace, the ground beneath them strewn with flowers.
"He was the best president we've ever had. He got on well with the man in the street," said housewife Dalia Mendoza, 45. Others compared him to former strongman General Juan Peron, whose figure still looms large in Argentine politics as the namesake of the Peronist party that Kirchner led.

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Cablevision and Fox reach programming deal - Game Shows

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp and News Corp have a reached a programing deal which sees the return of the Fox local stations to more than three million New York area homes after a 15-day blackout.
The Fox stations and some of its sister cable networks, NatGeo Wild and Fox Desportes, disappeared off the systems of Cablevision after the cable operator was unable to reach a deal with Fox over a price rise in programing fees.
With either side refusing to back down, Cablevision customers ended up missing some of their favorite shows and sports including the ongoing World Series baseball championship.
The companies said signals were returned to Cablevision ahead of the third game of the series on Saturday.
Terms of the new deal were not disclosed. In a series of PR and advertising campaigns, Cablevision had claimed News Corp had been demanding to more than double its fee to $150 million from $70 million.
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Turkish soccer star eyes Olympic ice-skating glory - Celebrities

BERLIN Oct 28 (Reuters Life!) - A soccer player who shot to
fame playing for Turkey's national team in the 2002 World Cup,
has ditched his football boots for ice skates and is now hoping
to cover himself in glory at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Ilhan Mansiz showed great promise as a striker in 2002, when
he scored three goals, helping his side to a best-ever third
place finish in the World Cup. But injury forced him to retire
in 2006 and he became a television presenter.
In 2008, at age 32, German-born Mansiz took to the ice for
the first time in his life -- as part of a Turkish television
show in which celebrities are paired up with professional
ice-skaters for a competition lasting several weeks.
Partnered with Olga Bestandigova, a Slovak figure skater who
competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics, Mansiz won the show.
Mansiz said Bestandigova -- now his girlfriend -- dreamt of
taking part in another Olympic Games but did not have a partner.
"We had so much fun and trained for between six and eight
hours a day," he told Reuters. "We came on in leaps and bounds
so we decided to train for the Olympics."
The 35-year-old said starting to skate so late was not a
problem -- what mattered were motivation and belief.
"I started playing football very late too," he said. "I
didn't start playing for a club until I was 14. If you're really
determined to achieve something and you believe you can do it or
you work hard at it, it's possible no matter how old you are."
Mansiz has said in several interviews that his dream is to
qualify and compete for Turkey at the 2014 Winter Olympics in
Russia. It was unclear on how his Slovak partner would qualify
for the Turkish Olympic team.
The pair are currently training in the southern German town
of Oberstdorf, near where Mansiz was born.
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