Alytus lies along the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania An ancient settlement on a major trade route when the fortress on Alytus Hill defended the region from Crusader raids Alytus spread over neighboring hills and valleys so that today more than a third of the city of 75,000 is forest reserve and parkland Vidzgiris forest provides a 452 hectare botanical reservation within the city featuring rare plants and protected animals Foremost of Alytus’ many festivals is the three-day Alytus City Festival at summer solstice and theatrical performances.  Its Bonsai Exhibition is unique in the Baltic States.  The biennial festival of contemporary experimental art draws artists from more than 25 countries Alytus’ Festival of Lighting the Christmas Tree encompasses may events including Christmas festivities and evenings of Christmas and exploring historic and archeological sites Alytus’ high schools and technical college support its industrial centre Back to: Sister Cities Relax and experience the natural beauty of our waterways The earliest beginnings of the Rochester Police Department (RPD) and its motto — Serving with PRIDE.. The City of Rochester is proud to supply its residents with clean The Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) is the official statement of land use and.. The Chief of Staff oversees the Mayor’s office and serves as the Mayor’s senior advisor The Master Action Plan tool puts all that information together in one place to make it easier for.. We are here to help. Please reach out to us with any questions or comments you may have about The City of Rochester. We are committed to providing the best services for the brightest future. Lithuania, Vilnius: Lithuania’s Public Security Service (VST) on Wednesday started protecting the Alytus switchyard and transformer substation of the LitPol Link interconnector with Poland. The Baltic power grids are set to synchronise with the Continental European network in February through the link. Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said that synchronisation with the European system is vital not only for the energy sector but also for national security and stressed the importance of protecting the infrastructure. In January, the VST started protecting Litgrid’s Lithuanian Power System Control and Data Centre, and the Lithuanian Power Plant in Elektrėnai. It will also take over the security of the NordBalt interconnection infrastructure in Klaipėda in April. With state approval, Xcel Energy will build a 280-km transmission line linking clean energy from southwest Minnesota to over 1 million homes across the Upper Midwest. The project, worth $284 M, includes new and upgraded substations to boost power supply and reliability across southern Peru, including the city of Cusco. Wandoan South Solar 2 to power 120,000 homes, avoid 568,000 t of CO₂ annually, and support Queensland’s net-zero ambitions. © 2013-2025 | All Rights Reserved MERIT MEDIA INT. A similar incident was recorded at Vilnius Airport late on Saturday. According to the Armed Forces, the balloon with contraband cigarettes landed at the stadium of the Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Battalion just before midnight. The military police inspected and removed the find. “From a military perspective, this incident is not significant in itself – military unit security sometimes encounters and intercepts various violations, detains individuals taking photos, and occasionally someone climbs over the fence attempting to enter without permission,” the Armed Forces wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. They explained that they follow the Statute on the Use of Military Force, which bars them from firing at a descending balloon when there is no clearly identified threat. The military emphasised that, based on intelligence assessments, the level of threat to the country remains unchanged and the alert level is “normal”, adding that such a balloon in peacetime, without a change in the threat level, “is in no way an air defence subject”. “Even with the active use of air defence measures, the principle of proportionality is observed – no one will fire missiles costing tens of thousands of euros at a balloon that can cause only minor damage and can do so only theoretically,” the military said. A weather balloon carrying smuggled cigarettes, suspected of having come from Belarus, fell within Vilnius Airport’s airfield late on Saturday. Rustamas Liubajevas, the commander of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (VSAT), said earlier this week that border guards do not have the necessary weapons nor the legal authority to shoot down objects that illegally cross the Lithuanian border by air. However, the Interior Ministry has promised to grant such authorisation. For their part, the Armed Forces say they monitor such balloons on radar but do not comment on their tracking within Lithuanian airspace. The VSAT says it has recorded around 250 incidents involving such balloons in the past month. "The first month of this year was not a disappointment for us – it has been a long time since we had such a high number of births in a month we receive 25 newborn deliveries in January," Rasa Ivanovienė head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the hospital The doctor observed that the rise in the number of newborns is also due to women from other cities coming to give birth in Alytus "Women come to us to give birth from a number of cities and towns even those that are similarly distant from the major cities We have women in labour coming from Varėna Alytus Stasys Kudirka Hospital welcomed 316 babies in total – 140 girls and 176 boys the winner of the Environmental Prize of Valdas Adamkus Presidential Library-Museum and Dana Gedvila Fund was announced the former long-standing director of the Alytus Region Waste Management Centre He received the prize for his merits and contribution to the development and modernisation of the waste management system in Lithuania and for creating an exemplary and modern waste management system in the Alytus region The award ceremony will take place on 5 June in the Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) The winner will receive 5,000 euros and a sculpture by Kęstutis Dovydaitis Reipas is the former director of the first regional waste management centre in Lithuania and one of the pioneers of the country’s regional waste management system Drawing on environmental ideas and best practices from Western European countries he and his colleagues developed a modern regional waste management system in the region regarded as one of the most advanced not only in Lithuania but also in Europe Through the efforts of Reipas and his colleagues approximately 100 illegal dumpsites were cleared The Alytus region was the first in Lithuania to introduce modern waste sorting systems a separate food waste collection system.  The Alytus region has achieved the targets set by the European Commission well ahead of the legal deadlines very little waste was disposed of in the region with only about 5% of municipal waste being disposed of the European Commission’s target for 2030 was actually met the region has also developed an item reuse system called Mainukas and a textile reuse system called TikoTiks.  “I am overjoyed to have received the highest and most honourable award in the field of environmental protection The Valdas Adamkus Prize and this recognition honour all the people with whom I have had the opportunity to work and develop the waste management system in Lithuania This Prize also honours all the Lithuanian people who sort and believe in the possibility of a dignified life,” says the laureate Algirdas Reipas led the Alytus Region Waste Management Centre for over 20 years having served the maximum number of terms allowed by law.  While commending the achievements of Algirdas Reipas and the waste management centre he headed which have significantly contributed to preserving our natural environment the Prize Committee also wishes to draw public attention to one of the most important challenges of our civilisation – the issue of waste management the Committee wants to express its respect for the integrity of those working within this system encourage the public to pay more attention to waste management and inspire young people to pursue a career in this field and realise their environmental aspirations the founders of the Prize and the Committee received 13 nominations The environmental achievements of all the nominees were outstanding leading to intense and lengthy discussions in selecting the Prize winner the public activist Lina Paškevičiūtė (Environmental Coalition) Žymantas Morkvėnas (Baltic Environmental Forum) and Vytautas Magnus University professor Algimantas Paulauskas received special attention from the Committee.  The winner of the Prize was elected by a committee made up of professionals from different fields: Prof Birutė Galdikas (distinguished Lithuanian Canadian anthropologist and ecologist Nerijus Jurkonis (Director of VMU Botanical Garden and teacher at VMU Department of Environmental Sciences) Visvaldas Varžinskas (Director of KTU Centre for Packaging Innovations and Research) Donatas Puslys (journalist and Head of Media and Democracy Programme at Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis) member of the European Commission Virginijus Sinkevičius (European Commissioner for the Environment and Arūnas Antanaitis (Head of the Valdas Adamkus Presidential Library-Museum) a long-time friend of Valdas Adamkus and head of his election headquarters when Adamkus ran for the Board of Trustees of the Sanitary District of Chicago in 1968 is convinced that environmental protection was and will remain a global issue requiring special attention; therefore in order to give meaning and attention to environmental achievements in Lithuania as well as to honour the memory of his late wife which will be allocated for the President Valdas Adamkus – his friend a well-known environmentalist and the President of Lithuania – Prize The Prize of the Presidential Library and Dana Gedvila Fund has been awarded since 2021 for laudable and noteworthy achievements and efforts to protect and restore the natural environment in Lithuania and its neighbouring countries and to ensure the sustainability of resources The Prize will continue to welcome submissions of research and inventions individuals and organizations that draw attention to nature protection and encourage action as well as political decisions or business initiatives that encourage more sustainable development and a cleaner future through the invention or adoption of the most advanced solutions She was awarded for developing innovative and environmentally friendly technologies for cleaning oil pollutants from water for her ecological education of the public and for her achievements and leadership in the field of Ecology and Environmental Sciences A subscription to The Baltic Times is a cost-effective way of staying in touch with the latest Baltic news and views enabling you full access from anywhere with an Internet connection. Subscribe Now! 2025 © The Baltic Times /Cookies Policy Privacy Policy The underground rapid transit lines have been under construction for almost two decades due to various project delays The cross pinnacle on the Tower of Jesus Christ will be ready to receive visitors in 2026 on the centennial of Gaudi’s death Now you can get your wine in Talence by paying directly in Bitcoin That’s because the state has to spend money on updating the railway infrastructure rather than subsidizing the cost of the popular pass Steffen Romstöck said that he would respect the residents’ choice and would take over the helm of the municipality which will come into force from 1 January 2025 Rethinking renewable energy sources for the urban landscape But operating them is still illegal under the country’s legislation can inform and inspire communities and entrepreneurs that still feel trepidation at the prospect of energy transition it has a unique modular design that allows it to be shortened and lengthened like a train that’s the promise made by the mayor of Paris the district has long been known as the hangout spot for the artsy crowds Hostal de Pinós is located in the geographical centre of the autonomous region the ranking considers several distinct but essential factors these quiet areas will now be available on all main routes in the country The academic institution shows a deeper understanding of the well-being of its students The document prioritizes creating a convenient city that provides opportunities for all The Alytus City Municipality Administration has announced the completion of one of its most important and complex strategic planning documents The City Strategic Development Plan 2021- 2030 envisions Alytus in southern Lithuania as a sustainably growing city of opportunities comfortable and empowering to the people who live and work in it and sets objectives with specific measures for their implementation The first priority - achieving a CONVENIENT CITY The second priority - CITY OF OPPORTUNITIES – focuses on: The strategic development plan of Alytus until 2030 was prepared in several stages with in-depth situation analysis and public opinion feedback and the participation of five working groups representing the municipal administration I would very much like our city to be green so that everyone living here can freely realize their ideas and dreams and spend the spare time in a meaningful and healthy way. And these words would just ring hollow had it not been for the determination of the people of this city to join forces and work for the welfare of Alytus. I am firmly convinced that by working together we will make smart and sustainable decisions that will help create a convenient city a city of opportunities,” said Mayor Nerijus Cesiulis commenting on the aspirations of the new city development plan.  TheMayor.EU stands against fake news and disinformation. If you encounter such texts and materials online, contact us at info@themayor.eu The 10th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns (ESCT) sets the stage for stronger cooperation between the EU national and local level to fast track Europe's transition to climate neutrality Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces An interview with the Mayor of a Polish city that seeks to reinvent itself An interview with the newly elected ICLEI President and Mayor of Malmö A conversation with the Mayor of Lisbon about the spirit and dimensions of innovation present in the Portuguese capital 03 May 2025 15:30:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Dziugas Telsiai won 2–0 over Dainava Alytus on Sat Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match The current head to head record for the teams are Dziugas Telsiai 3 win(s) Dziugas Telsiai and Dainava Alytus have not drawn any of their last 4 matches against each other Have scored 5 goals in their last 5 matches Haven't kept a clean sheet in 10 matches Who won between Dziugas Telsiai and Dainava Alytus on Sat 03 May 2025 15:30:00 GMT?Dziugas Telsiai won 2–0 over Dainava Alytus on Sat 03 May 2025 15:30:00 GMT.InsightsHave scored 3 goals in their last 5 matches Dziugas Telsiai is playing home against Dainava Alytus on Sat Representatives of the Klaipėda District Municipality told LRT.lt that the Christmas tree in Gargždai broke at a height of about one metre above its stand According to the municipality representatives the tree is expected to be lifted and the damage assessed in the afternoon when the wind is expected to die down It will be assessed whether it is still possible to restore the Christmas tree in Gargždai the contractors who decorated it will be asked to install a new tree with a frame Šilalė Mayor Tadas Bartkus also informed that the town’s Christmas tree had fallen due to strong winds “Christmas trees are falling in western Lithuania Our town’s Christmas tree could not withstand the strong wind The restoration work will start as soon as the weather conditions allow,” the mayor wrote on Facebook on Monday morning Residents also reported fallen Christmas trees in Raseiniai The Christmas tree also fell in Alytus in southern Lithuania Alytus Mayor Nerijus Cesiulis shared a video on Facebook gust winds reached the speeds of 31 m/s on Monday morning There is one ship waiting to sail off and three waiting to enter the port firefighters in Lithuania have received around 100 reports of fallen trees blocking roads At least 32,000 people are also reported to be without electricity due to strong winds won the women's 20km race walk at China’s Autumn Race Walking Championships in Taian on Sunday (20) 2014 world U20 bronze medallist Ni Yuanyuan and Olympic bronze medallist Lu Xiuzhi Yang Jiayu was the first to make a move and broke away from the others after about four kilometres Yang Jiayu continued to lead into the second half Yang Jiayu still had a 12-second lead over Liu while Yang Liujing and Qieyang trailed further behind Liu started to close on the long-time leader after 13km but she couldn't quite match Liu's relentless tempo on the final lap as the world record-holder covered the last two kilometres in 8:34 Liu crossed the line in 1:27:48 with Yang Jiayu taking second in 1:28:06 and Qieyang third in 1:28:27 Ni (1:30:56) and Yang Liujing (1:31:00) also achieved Olympic qualifying times in fourth and fifth Asian Games champion Wang Kaihua won a competitive men’s 20km event Wang led from the outset and passed through 5km in 20:01 and 10km in 40:03 Olympic silver medallist Cai Zelin and Cui Lihong were more than a minute adrift closely followed by 2012 Olympic champion Chen Ding and Li Xiaobin Wang cranked up the pace at 13km and opened up a gap on Zhang who initially tried to go with him but then started to suffer Cai and Chen managed to make up a bit of ground in the final stages but Wang was already assured of the victory and crossed the line in 1:20:49 11 seconds inside the Olympic qualifying mark Li was fourth (1:22:56) and Zhang fifth (1:23:12) Zhaxi Yangben won the men's 50km in 3:52:19 finishing comfortably ahead of 2017 National Games champion Wang Rui (3:55:48) World bronze medallist Perseus Karlstrom returned to the roads for the first time in seven months at the International Race Walking Festival in Alytus on Friday (18) winning the men’s 20km event in 1:20:58 with the Olympic qualifying window now open for road performances the Swede’s winning mark counts as a qualifying performance for the Tokyo Olympics next year Lithuania’s Brigita Virbalyte-Dimsiene winner of the women’s race in 1:30:54 also finished just inside the Olympic qualifying standard Karlstrom set off at a steady pace with Britain’s 2016 world U20 champion Callum Wilkinson close behind passing through five kilometres in 20:38 a couple of seconds ahead of Ukrainian duo Nazar Kovalenko and Ivan Losev the leading duo began to increase the pace and they passed through 12 kilometres in 48:31 Wilkinson drifted back slightly while Karlstrom powered on ahead By the time he reached 17 kilometres (1:08:40) Karlstrom slowed slightly in the final kilometre but he crossed the line in 1:20:58 to finish two seconds inside the Olympic qualifying standard Losev and Kovalenko came through to take second (1:21:10) and third (1:21:12) respectively while Wilkinson was fourth in a PB of 1:21:21 "My goal was to have a good race and go for the victory," said Karlstrom "I didn’t have a specific time in mind It’s been a really strange year and it’s good to have at least one race before winter training." Virbalyte-Dimsiene had Hungary’s Viktoria Madarasz for company during the early stages passing through eight kilometres together in 36:08 gradually began to pull away and by 14 kilometres her lead over Madarasz was almost one minute the fourth-place finisher at the 2018 European Championships maintained her pace to the end and finished in a season’s best of 1:30:54 comfortably ahead of Spain’s Ainhoa Pinedo (1:37:50) Croatia’s Kristina Hendel comfortably won the Usti nad Labem Half Marathon on Saturday (19) in a PB of 1:13:27 while Bogdan-Ivan Horovydsky of Ukraine took the men’s title in 1:03:53 taking seven seconds off the PB he set just six days ago The event had been scaled down so that it could comply with the regulations currently in place in the Czech Republic and the elite races comprised all-European fields passing through five kilometres in 17:05 and 10 kilometres in 34:27 her lead had grown to almost 30 seconds over the chasing trio: Marcela Joglova of the Czech Republic Nuria Lugueros Diaz of Spain and Fatna Maraoui of Italy Hendel was away and clear while Diaz and Maraoui had managed to drop Joglova Hendel reached the finish line in 1:13:27 with Diaz coming through to take second place in 1:14:15 The men’s race was slightly more competitive Horovydsky bided his time as part of a seven-man lead pack during the first half The pack started to break up in the second half and by 15km it had become a two-man race between Horovydsky and Italy’s Said El Otmani The duo pushed one another right through to the end before Horovydsky eventually pulled clear El Otmani followed him across the line five seconds later while Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse was third in 1:04:34 Turkey’s Sezgin Atac ran away from Spain’s Adel Mechaal in the closing stages of the Istanbul Half Marathon winning the World Athletics Gold Label road race in a PB of 1:03:16 the 2017 European indoor 3000m champion who was making his half marathon debut Kenya’s Bernard Cheruiyot Sang and Ethiopia’s Getaye Fisseha Gelaw who were up with the leaders until the final few kilometres finished third and fourth respectively in 1:03:51 and 1:03:58 Kenya’s Daisy Jeptoo Kimeli led for the first half but Turkey’s Fatma Demir came through in the latter stages and went on to win in 1:13:17 Kimeli held on for second place in 1:13:29 while Esma Aydemir was further back in third in 1:15:40 Wang and Liu impress at Chinese Championships Kimeli clocks 10,000m world lead in Leiden Mardare highlights Balkan Championships with .. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page VILNIUS – Lithuania's government is calling a meeting of its National Security Commission on Monday over the recent fire in the country's southern city of Alytus Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis called the meeting to discuss the consequences of the fire and their elimination The meeting will be also attended by the ministers of the environment agriculture and health and they will present the results of the carried out investigations related to the consequences of the fire as well as recommendations for short-term and long-term measures to eliminate its consequences The fire at Ekologistika's tire storage facility in Alytus broke out on Oct 16 and extinguishing work was completed on after more than a week on Friday The level of air pollution in surrounding areas was very high several days after the fire and eight speople have turned to medics over health issues caused by air pollution Scientists say large quantities of poisonous substances were emitted during the fire and its health impact might be felt several decades The Food and Veterinary Service said on Friday milk from the affected areas is contaminated and banned farmers from the affected areas to sell it or use for human and animal consumption An emergency situation is declared in the city of Alytus and its district What solutions are implemented to maintain the title The Alytus City Municipality answered this question Fundamental sustainable development principles are being followed “The Green City” – that’s how locals and guests call Alytus according to the Alytus City Municipality Administration Environmental Protection Department’s head Vida Macerniene.“And really it is one of the unique Lithuanian cities where over 30% of the territory is covered by parks are taking place hand in hand with the economic ones and as soon as the economy starts recovering the use of natural resources increases – as well as pollution The majority of economic factors affect the environment in order to ensure proper environmental protection and achieve set goals it is imperative that the economy grows following the principles of sustainable development and social goals and limiting environmental damage,” she noted Main principles in greater detail “According to the national sustainable development strategy the allowable EU norms should not be exceeded Reaching such a goal is only possible by implementing the latest technologies that are less damaging to the environment cleaner manufacturing processes and low-waste facilities especially in the areas of natural-resource use and other sectors is necessary when dealing with climate change the preservation and improvement of natural resources and environmental quality and the preservation of biological and landscape diversity issues,” Macerniene added The Alytus City Municipality is taking all this into account and invites the citizens to take part in decision-making processes “We are constantly striving to involve the residents in the decision-making process It is necessary to increase their awareness and competence in the area of environmental protection inform them about their impact on the environment and the possibilities to choose more sustainable types of activities,” head of the Alytus City Municipality Administration Environmental Protection Department stressed Alytus – a city within a park Alytus is called one of the greenest cities in Lithuania or a city within a park because parks and forests encircle it “This city stands in an area with great recreational potential Natural diversity makes the city attractive to the locals and guests The total area of green spaces is about 214.7 hectares there are 41 square meters of green spaces per one resident of Alytus,” Macerniene continued “The city has the following parks: City Garden Park The parks have a huge recreational potential and are frequently visited,” she said.Green areas have been around in Alytus for several decades The city’s geographical location makes it easier to develop parks the forming of the Alytus City Garden Park began the Alytus City Garden Park was included in the Republic of Lithuania List of Intangible Cultural Heritage a technical project is being prepared to renovate the park’s pathways and order the green spaces,” Macerniene explained there is a 92-hectare forest park adjacent to the City Garden Park and the Valley of Songs on the bank of the Nemunas and there’s also the wash – the large Lake Dailide Both lakes are 1 kilometer away from the city center in the Resort Park,” Macerniene told DELFI The forest is home to rare plants of extreme botanical value and numerous protected animal species The Radziunai Mound is among the reserves attractions In order to help people get acquainted with these natural wonders an ecological educational trail has been built complete with information arrows to point visitors in the right direction this trail is suitable for skiing,” she said Alytus was one of first Lithuanian cities to start experimenting with waste sorting the sorting of kitchen/food waste was introduced in October 2018 Such waste is collected not just from individual houses and blocks of flats and other municipality institutions that provide catering services The residents are recommended to use kitchen/food waste as compost,” Macerniene stressed in order for the city to be able to use the environmental advantages in the future the Alytus City Municipality gives equal focus to environmental and consumer goals the Municipality Council pays special attention to the preservation of an ecologically stable environment and a full-fledged cultural landscape The goals and objectives of the National Environmental Protection Strategy and the plans prepared by the Municipality (The Alytus Strategic Development Plan till 2030 and the general plan),” she said Macerniene told DELFI about another solution that makes the city unique “Alytus has become the first city in Lithuania where waste will be burned to heat homes and generate electricity for the city’s electric buses and they will be charged at the heat energy supplier’s territory they will be replaced by non-polluting ones,” the Alytus City Municipality Administration Environmental Protection Department’s head shared Residents enjoy sustainable living in Alytus We asked Agne (name changed actual name known to DELFI) what do the residents of Alytus think of the Municipality’s solutions and sustainable initiatives Even though currently she lives in Vilnius the fact that Alytus has been recognized as one of the greenest cities in Lithuania makes her happy and proud I sometimes miss the sustainable solutions of Alytus One of the most prominent ones being the electric buses (I’ve used them countless times) are more environmentally-friendly,” Agne said she pointed out several things that still lacked the needed solutions.“Last year The little lake’s shores were covered with green/bluish sludge It was difficult to believe that such is the condition of one of the city’s main attractions,” she continued contributed to making life in Alytus cleaner and more sustainable.“I try to use public transport or go on foot while enjoying a very green city that is full of parks and numerous pedestrian footpaths and bike paths – they also encourage travelling more sustainably,” she claimed The exercise Amber Desire is taking place from July 25-27 and involves members of the Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Battalion and the Headquarters Multinational Division North East The exercise includes the deployment of the MND-NE headquarters joint operations and live-fire exercises for Lithuanian The exercise is aimed at improving the planning and execution of joint operations and interoperability between NATO allies Cooperation between Lithuania and Poland will receive particular attention during this exercise Soutine and Litvak Art will include some of the works from the personal collection of Shmuel Tatz a renowned New York-based physiotherapist born in Alytus The exhibition is curated by art historian Ieva Kuzminskaitė-Staigienė She told LRT.lt that Soutine’s works can be found in private Lithuanian collections and have been exhibited but this is the first time that Modigliani will be shown in Lithuania Kuzminskaitė-Staigienė says she met the collector six years ago in New York simplicity and desire to communicate with Lithuania Then the collection shone in different colours.” Tatz has been building his collection for almost 15 years And he has been doing it in a very purposeful conceptual way – he started with Soutine and is only interested in artists who have had some kind of connection with the Litvak painter there are no random works in Tatz’s collection The authenticity of the works in the exhibition is not to be doubted as the collector has all the certificates to prove it without whose signature this artist could not even be exhibited at the Louvre Shmuel Tatz graduated from the Kaunas Institute of Physical Culture worked with the Olympic teams and emigrated to Israel four decades ago Soutine and Modigliani became key figures in Parisian bohemia and the so-called L'École de Paris and gave a completely new impetus to modernist art Both artists have works in the world’s most prestigious museums and private collections was born near Minsk and attended the Vilnius Drawing School before moving to France The exhibition in Alytus will feature some of his late last small-scale works: Sheep Behind a Fence (1940) and Landscape at Champigny (1943) Soutine painted the first one while hiding in the French countryside after the Nazis entered Paris The second was painted just one month before his death and could be one of his last works Modigliani was a Jewish Italian painter and sculptor who reinterpreted Renaissance art he gained worldwide fame for his paintings of nudes He painted four portraits of his friend Soutine when the sitter was still relatively unknown and lived in poverty The collector Tatz acquired the Portrait of Soutine just a few months ago The exhibition also includes works by Soutine’s contemporaries Jaques Chapir “We will probably start removing the waste today,” Kęstutis Mažeika told BNS on Friday “Some of the fire fighters have left already and freed the way The remaining fire fighters are still working and some of the waste is obstructing their work That waste is already extinguished and we plan to remove it.” will be removed from the site in the town of Alytus by the state-run enterprise Toksika Its managing director Arūnas Dirvinskas told BNS the enterprise was waiting for permission from the municipal emergency commission waiting for the municipal emergency commission's permission to come and remove that waste,” Dirvinskas said He said earlier that around 300 tons of material needed to be removed It will be moved to Šiauliai District and incinerated at a special power plant The fire at Ekologistika's tire storage facility in Alytus but Alytus Mayor Nerijus Cesiulis announced that it was fully put out only on Friday Read more: Fire in Alytus shows Lithuania not prepared to deal with critical incidents, president says Read more: Interior minister under pressure to resign following fire in Alytus Read more: Fire in tire recycling factory in southern Lithuania forces hospital evacuation the presidential office said the large-scale fire Alytus showed that the state was not prepared for critical incidents The meeting will be also attended by Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis Alytus Mayor Nerijus Cesiulis and Saulius Greičius the head of the Fire and Rescue Department Nausėda said there was a lack of systemic preparation and smooth inter-institutional cooperation once the fire broke out in Alytus and a danger to people's health emerged "The head of state sees the need to amend the legal base reduce bureaucratic obstacles to provide timely assistance to resident and also resolve technical supply issues," the statement reads Read more: Lithuanians stage mock evacuations to train for nuclear accident – photos President Gitanas Nausėda was in Japan when firefighters from four different municipalities were striving to extinguish a fire at a tire warehouse in Alytus the president visited the town in southern Lithuania to inspect the site and The system is not working well,” the president was critical about the overall government response saying that cooperation between the municipal authorities and the central government institutions was lacking but it took over a week to fully put it out “We need to take care of two things now: first to prevent the environmental consequences from affecting people's health we need better coordination [between institutions] and not push responsibility,” President Nausėda said The poisonous smoke from the tire warehouse left long-lasting environmental consequences Dairy farmers from surrounding areas have been forbidden from consuming or selling their milk The National Public Health Centre has taken water and soil samples from within a 10-kilomentre radius to determine if the land is suitable for farming “Heavy metals remain [in the soil] for a long time though it depends on how big the quantities are,” according to the centre's spokeswoman Dalytė Nekraševičienė The Public Health Centre has also tested air in the homes of Miklusėnai the nearest residential neighbourhood to the tire warehouse Six substances that are byproducts of the fire were discovered although their concentration was not deemed dangerous Local farmers are concerned about the losses they will suffer from the disaster who owns an ecological farm in Alytus District Milk samples from his 70-cow farm were taken last Friday but he has to wait nearly a week to know if the milk contains any dioxins they should test and inform us what to do with the pastures: should we plough them or keep them how are these dioxins moving around?” Makštutis wonders He says that his brother is even worse-off – his farm owns over 50 beef cattle that may need to be discarded Minister of Agriculture Andrius Palionis assures that the environment will be tested around the fire and all farmers duly compensated for any losses they incur “Dioxins remain up to 20 years in soil and up to six or eight years in living organisms,” says Romas Černius the chief of Alytus Food and Veterinary Service “Ten percent of the harmful substances enter the body through air and 90 percent Meanwhile government institutions are looking at some soul searching Following a National Security Commission meeting on Monday Interior Minister Rita Tamašunienė acknowledged that mistakes were made and an internal investigation would be conducted to point out the problems Read more: Interior minister under pressure to resign following fire in Alytus Director of the Alytus Region Waste Management Centre Algirdas Reipas says that the decision to start sorting kitchen and food waste was made because reaching the set goals (increase the collection of sorted waste to 80% decrease environmental pollution from waste and landfill gases and avoid increasing waste management costs if possible) would’ve been impossible otherwise “So we decided to create an infrastructure that would allow for the most effective way of meeting said goals using the latest EU experience because we were not only the first attempting such a task every region is forced to look for own solutions and learn from own mistakes,” he explained “By building on our experience and the experience of other countries we clearly realized that the process was unavoidable and necessary Not sorting food waste and throwing it away with other waste results in huge losses – both in terms of underutilized energy resources and waste management costs contaminates other types of waste and makes it unsuitable for reuse or recycling,” Reipas continued Municipalities organize the collection of food waste differently Vilnius residents will have to use special orange bags and dispose of it in mixed waste containers special food waste containers have been introduced they have also determined the best way of collecting such waste Having analysed the experience of various countries the Alytus Region Waste Management Centre concluded that putting food waste into separate bags and transporting them with other types of waste was inefficient “No more than 40% of residents use this system the amount of waste collected does not even reach 50% of total generated food waste and you need to build separate devices with an automatic sorting function based on the colour of waste bags The waste cannot be pressed and crushed because many bags become loose and the contents spill out The food waste mass cannot be treated with abrasive methods – only using high pressure to prevent the formation of microplastics about 50% of all collected food and kitchen waste remains in bags and is not treated biologically and the recycling of bags with biological impurities is very expensive or downright impossible the process is complicated and inefficient in terms of environmental protection and economy – it allows for the collection of just 15% of biological waste,” he said the Alytus Region Waste Management Centre chose a different approach – separate food and kitchen waste collection “We began by purchasing special containers for food and kitchen waste and distributing them among the locals who live in private houses people also got a bucket for collecting kitchen waste and a separate container for used cooking oil and fat The second stage was to place separate containers near blocks of flats residents of apartment buildings also received special buckets for collecting food waste in the kitchen The idea of giving out dedicated containers for cooking oil was abandoned since it hadn’t paid off,” Reipas noted Throwing food waste directly into the bucket is not recommended; therefore the Alytus Region Waste Management Centre offered putting it into bags but encouraged residents not to buy new bags and asked them to use plastic or paper bags that are used to pack food instead plastic bags can be separated automatically and treated separately – it is not mixed with any other types of waste “The 2021–2027 national waste prevention and management plan’s goal to provide biological waste collection means to households in urbanized areas has been pretty much reached in the Alytus region We have also started collecting food and kitchen waste from at least 300 households food waste is not being collected for several reasons Most rural residents compost biodegradable waste and/or feed food waste to domestic animals thus collecting food and kitchen waste from small rural areas would not be economically feasible at this time They are allowed to throw non-compostable waste into containers for mixed municipal waste,” Reipas explained You need to explain to them that food waste containers are not just for food but also for all the waste that is generated in the kitchen when preparing food paper smeared with oil and other foodstuffs Getting used to the changes was a matter of time people feel the difference and see a decrease in food waste This motivates them to keep sorting,” he claimed “Our controllers are constantly checking the containers and if they find improperly sorted waste they put a sticker with a warning “Do not empty” if potato or orange peels are found in a mixed waste container it is not emptied – the resident has to sort the waste and it will be collected during the next routine pick-up The residents are also regularly reminded of the necessity to pull the containers out for emptying no disciplinary actions will give a desirable effect if the resident lacks a certain frame of mind and motivation to sort,” Reipas insisted.It turns out that many residents met the separate collection of waste with a conviction that they ate everything and did not produce food waste when communicating it is imperative to stress that food and kitchen waste entails all the by-products of food preparation “We have noticed that people actually throw away huge amounts of unconsumed food or foodstuffs Companies throw away even more – our employees had to empty a container full of dumplings or sliced bread the amount of food and kitchen waste collected from the region’s residents has increased hundredfold “When we began collecting food waste separately the amount of mixed waste has been decreasing noticeably – by about 2,500 tons a year we collected approximately 10,000 tons less of mixed waste than five years ago The same trend is seen when collecting food waste from legal persons In the Alytus region we started doing it 2021,” he said All of the separately collected food and kitchen waste is treated using the dry anaerobic method in the Alytus Region Waste Management Centre’s biological treatment facilities The Alytus Region Waste Management Centre is the largest food waste treatment company in Lithuania The Centre treats over 20,000 tons of food waste a year to make biogas and the final product – high-quality compost for soil improvement the Alytus Region Waste Management Centre generates about 3m kWh of electricity – twice the amount required to power all of the company’s divisions The food waste is collected by waste carriers that won tenders and have vehicles suitable for this purpose. Waste collection schedules are posted on the Alytus Region Waste Management Centre’s website also – in the media (at the beginning of each year) and are sent to residents together with invoices DELFI reminds that last year the European Commission released a statement regarding the implementation of waste management goals set in the Directive on packing and packaging waste and the Directive on waste in the member states The member states that may not reach the set goals have been given recommendations on how to improve their waste management systems The main recommendations for Lithuania are related to promoting municipal waste and packaging reuse systems developing the system of sorted waste collection increasing the capabilities of biological and food waste treatment meeting sorted waste goals in municipalities and enforcing them via financial stimulus or fines and implementing awareness raising campaigns for various social groups will eventually have to start implementing said goals Fire fighters from nearby towns and cities The military has been called in to assist the effort which continues into Wednesday afternoon Smoke from burning tires is extremely harmful so a rehabilitation hospital in Alytus has been evacuated The town's inhabitants are advised to stay indoors cover water wells and not use the water for food The fire started at about 3 AM in the warehouses of one of the biggest tire recycling companies in the Baltics Strong southward winds blew the smoke towards a nearby residential block of Alytus People say the smoke was felt a dozen kilometres from the fire I thought a natural disaster occurred in Alytus,” a local resident told LRT TV I couldn't sleep since 4 AM,” another man said but she lives in a village about 35 kilometres from the town because finding a job as a cook closer to home proved impossible Now she commutes to work by her private car and has asked the municipality to help cover the expense It's very good for me that the municipality gives some support,” Daiva tells LRT TV About 1,500 people in the District of Alytus are registered as seeking employment The national Employment Agency says that poor public transport connection between the town and its rural surroundings is one of the reasons limiting people's chances of finding a job The Alytus chapter of Employment Agency says that people often look for seasonal work they can apply for compensations to cover up to nine months of commute expenses have been cushioned by de-industrialised peripheral towns – like Alytus “I feel good here because all my friends are here an eleventh-grader in Lithuania's sixth-largest town as she tries to perfect her sketch at a local art school She is well aware that students and young professionals flee to larger cities or other countries in search of better pay and a more exciting life several construction and transport companies and a textiles factory that once employed 6,000 workers “The bankruptcies were the most painful to people who had worked in the same companies for 20 or 30 years and suddenly had to be retrained are not afraid of changing themselves and their skills set,” said Jolanta Griškonienė who leads the town's Youth Employment Centre she is positive that the collapse of industry in Alytus has taught its youth “a lesson of flexibility and initiative” who studies tourism and hotel administration in the UK can cite statistical data about his town by heart “It was once the third-youngest city,” he said “We have a good swimming pool and an amusement park; we will soon have the longest bicycle path in Europe He dreams of opening a 'normal' bar himself 'normal' means classy – not the kind where their less educated peers hang out Yet they admit that without educated youth The demographic decline has halved the number of students at Alytus College – for aspiring entrepreneurs like Kornelijus this is not good news Nearly 60% of university students from Alytus region move to Vilnius Major cities and towns are populated with practically oriented universities of applied science which enable young people to study closer to home but even among Alytus natives who choose this path only one in four stays at home – unlike in larger towns “They are compensating the decline of local enrollment by attracting foreigners,” said Ditė who studies in Vilnius and only returns to Alytus for short visits but it is not where she would build her future Alytus College has become an island of diversity as demographic decline pressures local schools to look for alternative ways to survive and I prefer it to more crowded cities,” says Harsimrat from India Enrollment Manager Irena Ivanauskienė proudly tells of how her students “Our Congolese students also play in the local school's band.” “It is very peaceful here, there is no racist issue,” said Kayode, who came to Alytus from Nigeria. He would like to return to his country for work, but his co-nationals in the Business Management programme would rather stay. They regret that Lithuanian laws regulating residence permits for non-EU nationals are strict Attracting fee-paying students like Harsimrat and Kayode is a survival strategy for peripheral educational institutions India and Nigeria are already among top-five 'sending' countries for foreign students in Lithuania who still amount to less than 6% of all students Three times more Lithuanians go to study abroad According to the Study in Lithuania agency full tuition fees at Lithuanian universities range from €1,000 to €8,300 “One must adjust to the cultural differences that students are late for classes or can't understand assignments,” admits associate professor Rita Petrauskienė who strives to bring her multinational class to a common standard the newly gained international popularity of the college sustains academic jobs like hers international students also need dormitories but Alytus is more like Africa,” jokes Redas Diržys “I want to create something authentic around themselves to be themselves rather than integrate,” he said Residents may be overflowing with creativity but healing the wounds of industrial collapse takes a long time.