Tickets can be purchased at post offices
The Ministry of Transport and Communications of Ukraine is studying the possibility of selling railway and airline tickets through the network of the Ukrainian State Enterprise of Postal Communication (UGPPS) Ukrposhta. As reported by the Ukrposhta press service, a pilot project for selling railway tickets has already been launched at the Kyiv Main Post Office, and it is planned to be extended to large cities in the future.
According to the report, Ukrposhta and the state enterprise Ukrzheldortrans have already begun negotiations on implementing a joint project, preparing the necessary documentation and developing sales technology. Soon passengers will be able to buy tickets not only at railway and airline ticket offices, but also at a widespread network of post offices, which numbers almost 15,000 communication facilities.
The report notes that the introduction of the new service is advisable in all Ukrposhta branches, but it is expected that it will be in demand in all district centers of the country, as well as in rural areas.
Americans favor legalization of illegal immigrants
Most US residents have spoken in favor of allowing illegal immigrants to obtain temporary legal status. According to a public opinion poll conducted by Ipsos on the order of the Associated Press, this view is shared by 56% of the 1,003 US residents surveyed.
When asked whether illegal immigrants are a benefit to American society, 51% of respondents said they are beneficial, while 42% think otherwise. At the same time, two-thirds of respondents are confident that illegal migrants do jobs that US residents themselves refuse to do.
Estonian citizenship received by 429 residents of the country
The Estonian government granted Estonian citizenship to 429 residents of the country. As reported by the government press service, these persons meet all the requirements stipulated by law for obtaining citizenship.
Last year, 7,072 people received Estonian citizenship through naturalization, in 2004 – 6,523, and in 2003 – 3,706. From 1992 to 2005, more than 138,000 people became Estonian citizens through naturalization. At the end of 2005, there were 136,533 stateless persons in Estonia. In accordance with the state integration program for 2004 to 2007, at least 5,000 people may receive citizenship in Estonia. A new integration program for 2008-2013 is currently being developed.
Estonia has repeatedly been criticized by the Council of Europe and other international organizations in connection with the large number of stateless persons living in the country.
Cellist defends musicians from bureaucrats
Famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma spoke in the US Congress with a report on the hardships musicians face in obtaining American visas. His speech took place at a meeting of the Government Reform Committee devoted to the problem of entry into the US for foreigners, reports The New York Times.
Yo-Yo Ma is the head of the music project 'Silk Road' (Silk Road Project), which unites musicians from Central Asia and the Middle East. The performers of this ensemble regularly face discrimination at US embassies and consulates: they are summoned to numerous interviews and visa issuance is delayed for months.
Not only residents of third-world countries but also Europeans face the problem of obtaining US visas. Sandra Gibson, president of the Association of Performers, said that the recent cancellation of the famous Manchester Hallé Orchestra's tour of the US was related to the behavior of the American embassy in London. All one hundred musicians were invited for individual interviews, which proved too expensive for the orchestra: consular fees and travel from Manchester to London and back would have cost $80,000.
The current embassy policy speeds up the process of processing entry visas for groups for an additional fee of a thousand dollars, to which individual fees of $100 per person are later added. For many music orchestras, these are prohibitive amounts. As a result, according to Gibson's report, the number of foreign performers who visited the US has decreased by 40% since 2001.
The strict measures taken by US embassies and consulates are associated with an attempt to prevent terrorists from entering the country. As one senior official said at a Congressional hearing, the State Department has hired more than five hundred additional employees to speed up the visa issuance process.
Descendants of Ostarbeiters will be able to study in Austria for free
Descendants of Ukrainian Ostarbeiters who were forced to work in Austria during World War II will be given the opportunity to study and acquire a profession in this country.
To this end, the Austrian government allocated €25 million, said the honorary consul of Austria in Lviv, Yaroslav Nakonechny. According to him, the money remained from funding humanitarian projects for Ostarbeiters. The Austrian government decided to direct it to education and professional training for grandchildren and great-grandchildren of former forced laborers from Ukraine. Each of them can directly apply in writing to the representative office of the 'Understanding and Reconciliation' fund in Vienna and receive money for education.
There are no restrictions or conditions, knowledge of the language is not required, says Nakonechny. The main thing is that the person is an adult and has a document confirming kinship with the Ostarbeiter. 'Grandchildren and great-grandchildren, by applying there, can obtain any profession: agronomist, doctor, architect. The main thing is that there will be no intermediaries,' noted the honorary consul. The amount allocated for education is not limited, added Yaroslav Nakonechny.
Foreign Ministry warned tourists about dangers in the Everest area
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine warns Ukrainian tourists about the intensification of insurgent activity in the Mount Everest area. Recently, cases of tourists traveling in the Mount Everest area (Kingdom of Nepal) being captured by Maoist insurgents have become more frequent, the Foreign Ministry’s press service reports.
“The insurgents have stepped up their decade-long campaign of violence after the ceasefire ended a year ago,” the ministry’s statement says. In this regard, the Ukrainian Embassy in India and the consular service department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recommend that persons planning to fly to the said area of Nepal take into account that the route from the town of Jiri to the town of Lukla passes through territory where insurgent activity is characterized by increased activity. “Therefore, it is more advisable and safer for travelers to start the ascent of Everest from the town of Lukla, where the route is reliably guarded by the military,” the foreign policy agency’s statement notes.
China begins new cultural revolution
The Chinese government plans to significantly expand its reforms in the cultural sphere. If previously the corresponding measures were carried out in nine provinces of the country, now they will cover more than two dozen provinces.
The essence of the reforms is to increase China’s cultural exports. According to local experts, the reforms are driven by the need to support the competitiveness of Chinese culture on the global market. In particular, they note that China imports ten times more books than it exports. A similar situation exists in other areas of the cultural market. It is not reported what specific steps are planned to be taken within the framework of the reform.
Based on materials from news agencies.