SocietyMeeting Industry Expected to Snap up Hosted Buyer Places at Successful Baltic Event2013-09-25, 16:57Organisers of meetings industry event CONVENE, which showcases the Baltic Sea Region, are once again expecting huge interest in their Hosted Buyer programme, which is now open for registration. A commemorative plaque was revealed in memory of prof. Józefa Rebelskiego, the founder of Jewish orphanage and school in Vilnius. The plaque was opened by the Mr Zbigniew Maciejewski, councillor of Vilnius City from the AWPL party, the head of the committee on culture, education and sport of the Vilnius City Council. Saviors of Jews – an icon of humanness for future generations2013-09-23, 19:39On the occasion of the National Memorial Day for the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews, President Dalia Grybauskaitė awarded the Life Saving Cross to those who placing their families and themselves in grave danger, saved Jewish people from the genocide carried out by the Nazis during World War II. Belarusian Days of Culture in Vilnius2013-09-19, 13:51The official opening ceremony of the Days will take place at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall on 21 September. The audience will hear the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Sergei Krylov with the participation of outstanding Belarusian pianist Rostislav Krimer. On the same day Vilnius' Church of Saint Johns will host a concert of the academic choir of the Belarusian TV and Radio Company, while the Grodno Chamber Orchestra will perform in the city of Plunge. Informal Meeting of Energy ministers takes place in Vilnius2013-09-19, 13:25Earlier today has started the Informal Meeting of Energy Ministers of the European Union. During two days meeting the Ministers will discuss about priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency. In particular they will continue to work on to extremely important topics, such as: competition of a single energy market and strengthening external dimension of the EU energy policy. Making better use of Europe's waterways2013-09-18, 19:57The European Commission today announced new measures1 to get more freight onto Europe's rivers and canals. Barges are amongst the most climate-friendly and energy efficient forms of transport but currently they only carry about 6% of European cargo each year. The new proposals intend to realise the unused potential of Europe's 37,000 km of inland waterways. They will enable freight to move more easily and lead to further greening of the sector, as well as encouraging innovation and improving job opportunities. European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas responsible for Transport said, "We already send 500 million tonnes of freight along our rivers and canals each year. That's the equivalent of 25 million trucks. But it's not enough. We need to help the waterway transport industry develop over the longer term into a high quality sector. We need to remove the bottlenecks holding it back, and to invest in the skills of its workforce." The Commission is proposing actions in the following areas: Removing bottlenecks Significant bottlenecks in the form of inadequately dimensioned locks, bridges or fairways and missing links such as the connection between the Seine and the Scheldt river systems are hampering the sector's full development potential. The Commission is proposing to improve transport of waterborne freight by upgrading locks, bridges and navigation channels. The new Connecting Europe Facility and TEN-T guidelines give priority to new funding opportunities for inland waterways – inland waterways are moreover an important component of six out of nine TEN-T core network corridors. Greening and innovation Compared to other land-based modes of transport, inland waterway transport is energy-efficient, safe, almost congestion-free and silent. The Commission will propose measures including new standards for engines to encourage investment in low emission technologies as well as support for research and innovation. Better connections to other forms of transport Priority will be given to improving links between inland waterways, road and rail – with particular attention paid to connections at sea and river ports. Based on its ongoing review of River Information Services, the Commission will make proposals to improve cargo handling facilities and reduce paperwork. Investing in a skilled workforce The waterways sector relies on a skilled workforce. The new proposals are expected to bring broader recognition of qualifications and careers, to improve labour access, and mobility. Background About 37 000 kilometres of inland waterways flow through 20 of the EU Member States, transporting around 500 million tons of cargo every year, in particular in the densely populated and congested areas. The intertwined Rhine, Scheldt and Meuse river systems are connected to the Seine and Danube rivers. However some major bottlenecks prevent the European river systems from taking full part in the European transport area. After the general slowdown of the EU economy since 2008, overcapacity in certain market segments, the continued fragmentation of market players and the aging fleet have led to a worsening of the economic and sustainability prospects for inland navigation. NAIADES II responds with the work towards a stable long term framework for investments and innovation in quality inland navigation and with measures with short to medium term effects, such as a review of costly technical requirements. Under NAIADES II, financing from EU, national and from the sector needs to be mobilised to support the necessary investments. Access to finance is particularly important in this respect.
First Air Lituanica flight with the new aircraft2013-09-17, 13:54On Sunday 15 September the newly leased Air Lituanica aircraft Embraer 175 took off on its first flight to Brussels. Air Lituanica currently employs a crew 11 male and 1 female pilots who are capable of operating the aircraft which reached Vilnius just a week ago. The company's director of the f Flight Operations Department Edmundas Janusas confirmed that the passengers are operated by 2 pilots: one captain and one second pilot. On board they are served by two Air Lituanica flight attendants whose main job are to make sure that the time spent in the air passed as pleasantly to each passenger as possible. 'We take the selection of our staff very seriously. Each candidate must comply with the highest industry requirements: enjoy great health, know several foreign languages, be trained and well-prepared psychologically, have appropriate knowledge of safety procedures, etc.,' said E Janusas. 'In fact, the most experienced pilot in our team has been already flying for 42 years.' Although the main function of all crew members is to ensure safety, when asked about the factors which lead to the ultimate overall customer satisfaction most passengers still mention the complaisance and the pleasant appearance of the flight attendants. 'Needless to say, complaisance and positive attitude are highly important, but one should not ignore the crucial ability to react fast in any situation. That's where experience and psychological preparedness play the major role,' says the Head of Cabin Crew in Air Lituanica Jelena Darinceva. J Darinceva pointed out that although it might initially seem that the flight attendants in every airline tend to look pretty similar, the actual requirements sometimes differ a lot: 'According to the standards of Air Lituanica, the hair of all airline flight attendants must be always tidily tied in pony tails and their make-up has to be unnoticeable with the exception of lips which must be colour red. Moreover, none of our flight attendants can have any visible tattoos or wear extravagant jewellery. They must all, however, wear a watch with clearly visible time as it is not only an accessory but also an important device necessary for all attendants at work.' Attitude, sense of responsibility and dedication are the personal traits which are required from all crew members in order to ensure flight safety. Moreover, it is an integral part of the overall airline's image. After successfully completing their first flight to Brussels the Embraer 175 crew is already preparing for their first of the upcoming regular flights to Prague (20 September) and Munich (21 September).
International policy issues in the spotlight in the meeting of the Working Party on Customs Union2013-09-17, 13:39On the 19th of September the meeting of the EU Council's Working Party on Customs Union will take place in Vilnius. According to tradition every half a year one of the meetings of the Working Party is organised in the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. Earlier today ministers of transport of three Baltic States have signed the declaration on common Baltic venture for the European-gauge railway project Rail Baltica. The contract was gotten after Estonia had decided to take in Vilnius in the Lithuanian part of the project. Exhibition of polish artist Arek Wolski’s works2013-09-14, 06:57At the (AV17) gallery at 6 p.m., September 12th, the exhibition of polish artist Arek Wolski's works – Definition Issue – will be presented. Although the author of the exhibition gives the meaning of his artistic ideas mostly in the field of jewelery art, yet this time he will reveal a much wider context of his work guidelines to a viewer: starting with unique pieces of conceptual jewelery and finishing with original objects in furniture design. |
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