VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) –
Thousands of Russians rallied against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s government on Saturday in a string of protests fueled by sharp falls in living standards since the economic crisis hit.

A coalition of opposition groups declared a national “Day of Anger” with some 50 rallies tapping into rising discontent at unemployment, higher bills and transport taxes. Protests across the country mixed local issues with anger at the ruling party.

While Kremlin critics have been heartened by a series of protests in recent months, they have been unable to consolidate their forces.

“The mood has changed, but it has not yet turned into a movement,” said Masha Lipman, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center think tank of the rise in protests.

But despite their scattered nature, the Kremlin is genuinely worried by the rallies, she said.

Read the whole hot breaking news

PARIS – President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party braced for a potential electoral wipeout in Sunday’s final round of regional elections, which an alliance of the rival left hopes will give it a national sweep and a staging ground for 2012 presidential voting.

Even damage control was difficult for the conservatives.

Sarkozy’s UMP party, or Union for a Popular Majority, has ended up pleading with voters to go to the polls, hoping supporters simply failed to cast ballots in the first round — the case for more than one in two French.

The participation rate was at a historic low in last Sunday’s voting — some 46 percent. The Socialist-led left won 53.5 percent of the votes while the UMP-led conservatives had 39.9 percent.

Even with Sarkozy’s party, some said voters were being alienated by the president and his high-speed reforms.

Read the whole hot breaking news

AUSTIN, Texas (Hollywood Reporter) –
Following up on 2006’s “Neil Young: Heart of Gold” with the second film in an anticipated concert trilogy, Jonathan Demme returns with “Neil Young Trunk Show: Scenes from a Concert,” an appreciably more visceral and spontaneous documentary.

It’s a given that the faithful will flock to anything Young-related, as they have for a remarkable 40-plus years, so returns from the urban art-house circuit should be satisfactory. Expansion beyond his customary fan base may have to await the broader reach of home video and cable. The film screened at the South by Southwest festival and opened in limited release Friday (March 19).

“Heart of Gold” was a full-scale staged production of Young’s “Prairie Wind” album, premiering the Canadian plains song cycle at Nashville’s storied Ryman Auditorium with supporting C&W luminaries, a gospel choir and a host of additional musicians filling out Young’s core band.

In “Trunk Show,” Young — who also produced under his usual Bernard Shakey credit for his Shakey Pictures banner — and Oscar-winning director Demme go for a much more stripped-down affair, covering a two-night stand at the Tower Theater near Philadelphia during Young’s 2007 tour supporting his album “Chrome Dreams II.”

Relying on a five-piece road band that also backed him on “Heart of Gold,” rather than his classic Crazy Horse ensemble, Young combines acoustic and electric sets covering highlights from his back catalog and more recent releases. Many songs, including such gems as “Cinnamon Girl,” “Old Man,” “Like a Hurricane” and “Oh Lonesome Me,” are presented uncut, offering luxuriously long takes of Young bent over his classic acoustic guitar (once owned by Hank Williams) or rocking out on “Old Black,” his Gibson electric.

Read the whole hot breaking news

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The count in the Iraqi elections isn’t yet over, but tallies released this week reveal upsets in restive provinces that portend a weak and fractious Iraq with battles looming on several fronts: Arab-Kurd rivalries, an internecine Shiite Muslim power struggle and what role Sunni Arabs will play in the next government.

Iraq’s election commission, under heavy criticism for a tortuous ballot-counting process, now has about 92 percent of votes recorded from the March 7 parliamentary election, the landmark poll that Iraqi and U.S. officials considered a gauge for the kind of nation American forces will leave behind next year.

For all the focus on the extremely tight race between Iraq’s top two vote-getters — Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and the former interim premier Ayad Allawi — election tallies released this week reveal several smaller dramas unfolding outside the capital. Sunni Arabs have weakened Kurdish leaders in diverse northern provinces, militant Shiites have overtaken their Iranian-backed allies for the religious vote, and many prominent figures will be cast into the political wilderness, according to the near-complete results issued by the Independent High Electoral Commission :

The election for the 325-seat parliament remains too close to call, with results still to come from out-of-country voting and early rounds for security forces and others such as hospital patients who needed special accommodation. Among the noteworthy themes emerging:

— Sunni Arabs have weakened Kurdish leaders in diverse northern provinces.

Read the whole hot breaking news

WASHINGTON – Complaints of sudden acceleration in Toyotas repaired under recalls have nearly doubled in the past two weeks, according to an Associated Press analysis of government data.

The complaints from 105 drivers raise questions about whether Toyota’s repairs will prevent the cars from speeding up on their own or if there is another reason for the problem.

Toyota has said it is confident in its repairs and has found no evidence of other problems, such as faulty electronics. The automaker did not immediately comment Wednesday on the latest complaints.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was contacting owners who have complained about their repaired vehicles. David Strickland, NHTSA’s administrator, said in a statement Wednesday the agency has found “several instances in which a dealer made mistakes in applying one of the recall remedies.”

He said NHTSA has discussed the issue with Toyota, which is trying to improve instructions to dealers.

Read the whole hot breaking news