Kateryna Bondarenko battles into second round of Australian Open-2010
On January 18, one out of four the most prestige Grand Slam tournaments Australian Open tennis championship started in Melbourne. In the first round of women’s singles Kateryna Bondarenko from Ukraine beat Ioana Raluca Olaru from Romania in two sets, according to ZIK. Bondarenko completely dominated the first set. The Ukrainian won with a convincing score of 6:2. Kateryna put much more effort into the second set. Olaru resisted fiercely and was able to bring the game to a tiebreak. Still Bondarenko proved to be better, achieving 8:6. The next opponent of the Ukrainian will be the Britain-based tennis player, although born in Ukraine, Olena Baltacha, the daughter of the famous Ukrainian Dynamo Kyiv and USSR team soccer player, Serhii Baltacha.
New Ski Resort Launched in Bukovyna
The group of ski resorts in the Chernivtsi oblast was recently enlarged, to a total of four. The new ski resort belongs to the famous health resort complex “Soniachna Dolyna” near Chernivtsi. According to the complex owner Ivan Semeniuk, the new ski resort is designed for both professionals and the amateurs, adults and children alike. There are several slopes and two ski elevators, each of them is able to serve 700 guests per hour. In case real snow would be lacking, powerful snow generators have been installed. Mr.Semeniuk promised that at next year's opening the complex will have its unique attraction – the region's longest ski run, several kilometers long, which will start from the seven-floor hotel roof. Petro Bryzhak, the head of the Head department of culture and tourism in Chernivtsi oblast, predicts the small distance to the oblast center (only 4 kilometers by highway) will ensure the complex can rival with present resorts. According to him, despite the second flu wave threat, which frightened off tourists at the beginning of the season, there is no lack of them now. All of the Carpathian resorts are fully packed, mostly because of the flexible pricing policy. Despite the crisis, the price of vouchers, ski elevators, ski and sledges increased by only 10-15 percent.
Haiti tragedy: celebrities do not turn their heads
U2 frontman Bono, ex-leader of The Police Sting, pop singers Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, and others will participate at a telethon aimed at helping Haitians who suffered from the earthquake, announced The Associated Press. According to the actor George Clooney, who will host the event, over 40 celebrities are expected. The telethon will take place on January 22 and will be broadcasted on all the channels of the MTV Network, including VH1, Comedy Central and CMT. It will also air on ABC, NBC, HBO and CNN. The songs, performed at the telethon, will be available on iTunes; the profit being sent to the victims in Haiti. Many other celebrities also responded to the call for help. In particular, Madonna donated 250,000 dollars, Sandra Bullock – one million dollars. As a result of the earthquake two-thirds of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince were destroyed. According to the Red Cross evaluation, there are 50,000 casualties. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked the capital's citizens, who lost hope, to be patient: according to him, they are doing everything possible to deliver aid to the victims. The people are in despair. Many try to leave the city for fear of marauders and looters.
