Denied Visas, Siberian State Symphony Cancels U.S. Tour

The 81-musician orchestra, based in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk (a few hundred miles northeast of where the borders of Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, and Russia meet), was to have made a two-week tour in February and March of regional cities in California, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. U.S. Customs and Immigration Services gave no reason for the denial of the visas. – Orange County Register (California)