EVENT

The port of Yuzhny recently handled the first vessel of the new ferry service “Black Sea Express.” The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine’s press release informs that on January 17, the car ferry Strofades IV moored to the port’s berth 22. The release states that the opening of the new line will bring additional transit cargo volumes to Ukraine, which are moved by road from Turkey to Europe. Usually, these cargoes are moved through Romania and Bulgaria, bypassing the territory of Ukraine. “We, along with representatives of state bodies and enterprises of all forms of ownership are working to increase the transit potential of Ukraine,” the press release quotes the State Sea and River Transportation Service’s head Serhii Kryzhanovsky as saying. Now, the line uses one ship of ro-ro class with a maximum load of 66 TIR trucks, arriving in Yuzhny once a week. Vehicles are unloaded in the shortest time possible, and the ship departs within a few hours after the end of cargo handling operations. In the future this will make it possible to increase the number of weekly ship arrivals to two. The ministry also reminded that an agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Turkish Republic on establishing international direct freight-rail-and-ferry connection is in works, and it, too, will help to increase the volume of transit cargo being transported through Ukrainian ports.

A year is left before the Euro-2012 football championship. The competition for the best non-official mascot is currently being held. According to competition’s rules, the mascot has to be an animal that inhabits the territory of Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Borys Kolesnikov, who is in charge of the preparations for the Euro-2012, recently asked domestic mass media to choose the championship’s mascot.

One of the candidates is the Carpathian lynx [commonly known as the Eurasian lynx; the question of whether one can distinguish between the two is moot. – Ed.]. It was nominated by the Kyiv zoo. “It is a quick, strong, spectacular animal, which is also Ukrainian. Bestowing the title of ‘Euro-2012 mascot’ on the Carpathian lynx should play a positive role in preserving this species. There are about 50 individuals in the wild,” the zoo press service reports.

The matter of preserving the Carpathian lynx drew the attention of one company, which held the “Trailing the Carpathian Lynx Team Eco Game” quest in the Carpathian mountains in December 2010. On the initiative of the organizers and participants of the quest, the prize money — 2,400 hryvnias, will be given to the Kyiv zoo for taking care of the female lynx Riki and the male Chip. The future brood of the couple is planned to be settled in the wild to help replenish this rare species’ population.

The Eleventh International Poster Biennial of Mexico “Voices of Freedom” will open in the Kyiv art gallery Lavra on January 26. As the organizers say, the exposition includes the work of a young Kharkivite Olha Selyshcheva. For this reason the event was held in Ukraine for the first time. The exhibit was previously held in Mexico City, Pueblo, Jalapa (Mexico) and St. Petersburg (Russia). The main subject of exposition is the meaning of the word “freedom.” One can see 110 works that were included in the prize shortlist. The first prize in the “Culture” category was taken by Stephan Bundi from Switzerland, the second prize was given to Lance Rutter from the US, and the third went to Mohammad Jamshidi from Iran. In the “Political and social themes” category, the first prize went to Mieczyslaw Gorowski (Poland), the second to Jian Ping He (China-Germany), and the third to Leo Lin (Taiwan). The first, second and third prizes in the “Advertisement” category were not awarded, but encouragement prizes were given to Antti Raudaskoski and Jenni Kuokka (Finland). The first prize in the “Ecology” category went to Lex Drewinski (Poland-Germany), the second to Natalia Alenova (Russia-Spain), and the third to Elzbieta Chojna (Poland). Meetings with leading graphic designers will take place within the framework of the exhibition. The action was supported by the Embassy of Mexico in Ukraine. The exposition will be open until February 8.