Lausanne, Switzerland, will host the Ukrainian Mine Action Conference (UMAC2024) on October 17-18, the Swiss Federal Council has announced.
“The event, which Switzerland is organizing jointly with Ukraine, will focus on the global aspects of humanitarian demining, in particular the three main components: people, partners and progress,” the statement said.
The goal of UMAC2024 is to discuss the role of mine action and their technological innovations.
The UMAC2024 conference on mine action in Ukraine will be attended by government officials, representatives of international organizations, the private sector and the scientific community.
Switzerland will be represented by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Amgerd, who will open the conference, and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ignazio Cassis.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/
On September 18, 2024, the 64th auction of Ukrainian Collectible Art will start at Goldens auction house. The selection represents works by Ukrainian artists of different time periods – from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century – and brings together rare works by masters whose work has become an integral part of the cultural heritage of Ukraine and Europe.
In total, the auction features over 40 lots – a unique collection of collectible works by artists of various art schools and movements. It is important to note that many of the works presented have been published in books and albums, and some of them have been exhibited in group or solo exhibitions, which certainly adds to the collection’s value. The auction exhibition and silent auction “Ukrainian Collectible Art” will start its work on September 18. The exhibition will be open until September 26 inclusive. Bids for the lots are accepted in the silent auction mode in the exhibition hall and on the website www.gs-art.com in the catalog section of the 64th auction. The final bidding of the auction will take place on September 26 (Thursday) throughout the day, and at 19:00 on September 26, bidding for the lots will be completed by step closing of the lots at the last current bid.
Among the prominent names of the Kyiv school, the auction will feature works by Anatolii Turovskyi, Mariia Prymachenko, Mykola Hlushchenko, and the Sixties artists Alla Horska and Viktor Zaretskyi. Anatolii Turovskyi’s works rarely appear on the art market and are always of interest to collectors. The names of Mariia Prymachenko, Mykola Hlushchenko, Alla Horska and Viktor Zaretskyi are among the pantheon of artists whose works add weight to any collection. The auction will feature a graphic work by Alla Horska from 1960 and a painting by Viktor Zaretskyi from 1986-1990, which is one of the highlights of the collection. In his “Date”, his unique style is most vividly expressed: a combination of modernism and Ukrainian national tradition, the dominance of drama and exquisite decorative elements.
The total area of residential buildings for which permits for construction works (new construction) were issued, at the end of January-June 2024 decreased by 7.7% compared to the same period of 2023 – to 2 million 45.5 thousand square meters, reported the State Statistics Service (Gosstat).
According to the statistical department, in January-June 2024, the total area of new construction of apartment buildings decreased by 8.7% compared to last year – to 1.96 million square meters. m. The number of apartments in apartment buildings declared at the start of construction decreased by 13.1% and amounted to 21.7 thousand.
According to the State Statistics Committee, the most new housing in the first half of the year was announced in Kyiv region: the total area of new housing construction amounted to 383 thousand square meters (8.3 thousand apartments).
Significant volumes of new housing were also declared in Lviv region – 327.6 thousand sq. m (4.7 thousand apartments), as well as in Ivano-Frankivsk region – 217.4 thousand sq. m (3.6 apartments). m (3.6 thousand apartments), Vinnytsia – 213.8 thousand sq. m (3.4 thousand apartments), Zakarpattya – 143.4 thousand sq. m (2.1 thousand apartments) and Khmelnytskyi oblasts – 121.1 thousand sq. m (1.8 thousand apartments).
In Kiev in January-June 2024, the total area of new housing construction amounted to 187.9 thousand square meters (1.5 thousand apartments).
The State Statistics Service reminds that the figures are given without taking into account the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and part of the territories where hostilities are (were) conducted. As reported, the total area of new housing construction in 2023 decreased by 37% to 4.2 million square meters, while in 2022 amounted to 6.67 million square meters, in 2021 – 12.7 million square meters.
Germany will provide Ukraine with an additional EUR100 million in aid this winter, Reuters quoted the country’s Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock as saying.
During a visit to Moldova on Tuesday, she said that Russia continues to attack the Ukrainian energy infrastructure and is planning a “winter war to make the lives of people in Ukraine as horrible as possible.”
As reported, Russian Federation fired 127 missiles and 109 attack drones on the territory of Ukraine on August 26, 2024. The NEC Ukrenergo recognized this attack on energy facilities as the most large-scale one since the beginning of the war.
At the same time, Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure are recorded almost daily.
Gold continues to rise in price and break records on the back of a weaker US dollar and on expectations of a significant interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this week. Based on futures quotes on the rate level, the probability of its reduction by 50 basis points (bps) by the Federal Reserve is estimated by the market at 67% compared to 25% a month ago, according to CME FedWatch.
In addition, demand for gold as a safe-haven asset has intensified following the second assassination attempt on U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump last weekend, Trading Economics noted.
“A fragmented world laden with geopolitical risks and debt will continue to support the price” of gold, notes Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank.
Analysts Goldman Sachs confirmed their forecast, according to which the precious metal may rise to $ 2700 per ounce in early 2025 due to lower interest rates in the U.S. and increased demand for gold from the Central Bank of emerging market countries. However, they noted that if the Fed raises the rate by only 25 bp, prices for precious metal may show a short-term pullback, Bloomberg reports.
Experts of the Australian bank ANZ also expect prices to rise to $2700 per ounce in the near future.
Quotes of October gold futures on the Comex exchange are now $2588.7 per ounce, which is $3.5 (0.1%) above the level at the close of the previous session. Since the beginning of this year, the precious metal has risen in price by more than a quarter.
