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Lviv

2011-04-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

Lviv (Ukrainian: Львів L’viv, IPA: [lʲwiw] ( listen); Polish: Lwów; Russian: Львов, L'vov; German: Lemberg; Latin: Leopolis; see also other names) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Jewish and Polish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city till the outbreak of World War II and the following Holocaust and Soviet population transfers. The historical heart of Lviv with its old buildings and cobblestone roads has survived World War II and ensuing Soviet presence largely unscathed. The city has many industries and institutions of higher education such as the Lviv University and the Lviv Polytechnic. Lviv is also a home to many world-class cultural institutions, including a philharmonic orchestra and the famous Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The historic city centre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lviv celebrated its 750th anniversary with a son et lumière in the city centre in September 2006.

Lviv was founded in 1256 in Red Ruthenia by King Danylo Halytskyi of the Ruthenian principality of Halych-Volhynia, and named in honour of his son, Lev. Together with the rest of Red Ruthenia, Lviv was captured by the Kingdom of Poland in 1349 during the reign of Polish king Casimir III the Great. Lviv belonged to the Kingdom of Poland 1349–1569, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569–1772, the Austrian Empire 1772–1918 and the Second Polish Republic 1918–1939. With the Invasion of Poland at the outbreak of the second World War, the city of Lviv with adjacent land were annexed and incorporated into the Soviet Union, becoming part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1939 to 1941. Between July 1941 and July 1944 Lviv was under German occupation and was located in the General Government. In July 1944 it was captured by the Soviet Red Army and the Polish Home Army. According to the agreements of the Yalta Conference, Lviv was again integrated into the Ukrainian SSR.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the city remained a part of the now independent Ukraine, for which it currently serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast, and is designated as its own raion (district) within that oblast.

On 12 June 2009 the Ukrainian magazine Focus assessed Lviv as the best Ukrainian city to live in.

Zaporizhia International Airport

2011-04-20T20:02:00.001-07:00

Zaporizhia International Airport (IATA: OZH, ICAO: UKDE) (Ukrainian Міжнародний аеропорт Запоріжжя) is the international airport that serves Zaporizhia, Ukraine one of three airfields around the city. The aircraft engine factory Motor Sich has its base here.

Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport

2011-04-20T20:01:00.001-07:00

Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport, Ukrainian Міжнародний аеропорт Івано-Франківськ (IATA: IFO, ICAO: UKLI) is an airport bordering Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, some 4.4 km (2.7 mi) by road from the town center. Ivano-Frankivsk airport is an international airport with frontier and customs control since 1992. The airport traffic capacity is claimed to be 400 passengers per hour.

A second concrete runway, 6,325 ft (1,928 m) long, is now used by the military as a parking lot, and a large apron (located northwest of the civilian terminal) is still in use by the Ukrainian Air Force (Військово-Повітряні Сили України).

Officials have made efforts in the past to promote the airport and its relative proximity to the Bukovel ski area, Vorokhta and the Carpathian National Nature Park, and other quiet, spectacular mountain environments.

Kiev Zhuliany Airport

2011-04-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

Kiev (Zhuliany) International Airport (Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт "Київ" (Жуляни)) (IATA: IEV, ICAO: UKKK) is one of the two passenger airports of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. It is located in the Zhuliany neighbourhood in the south of the city.

Although the original airport, it is not the main airport serving Kiev. In the 1960s the larger Boryspil International Airport was built near the city of Boryspil. Since that time the old "Kiev" airport became commonly known just as "Zhuliany" (or Kiev-Zhuliany), while it still keeps the official "Kiev" name.

In Soviet times Kiev-Zhuliany was used for domestic flights only. After independence it began receiving some international flights from nearby countries. Surrounded by major railways, highways and residential districts, the airport has no possibility for expansion and is limited in types and MTOW of aircraft, certificated to operate there.

The airport features a major aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul company, ARP-410. On September 2003 some of its territory was handed over to create Ukraine State Aviation Museum which presently is the largest aviation museum in Ukraine, exhibiting some unique Soviet examples including original prototypes for famous airliners.

On January 14, 2011, WizzAir announced that it will be moving all its operations to 'Zhulyany' from Kiev's larger Boryspil Airport.

Railway connection

The airport's passenger terminal is located about 0.5 km away from the Kyiv-Volynskyi rail station - a stop for elektrichka commuter trains as well as for the planned "Urban Electric Train" service.

Future Metro connection

Plans for the Podilsko-Vyhurivska Line, which is now under construction elsewhere in the city, include the Airport transfer station form the 'Zhulyany' Airport. The station is expected to be constructed until 2020.

Kharkiv International Airport

2011-04-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

Kharkiv International Airport (Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт "Харків"), (IATA: HRK, ICAO: UKHH) is an airport located in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

The airport is the main airfield serving the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city. Located to the south-east of the centre, in the city's Kominternovskij district. The main terminal at Kharkiv was built in the 1950s in a socialist neo-classical style favoured by Joseph Stalin; to this day, this is still the main international and domestic terminal at the airport. However, with the awarding of Euro 2012 to Poland and Ukraine, Kharkiv International has built a new modern international terminal in order to comply with UEFA regulations.

Kharkiv International Airport is well served by municipal transport and is connected to the city's wider network of roads and railways via Aeroflotska Street and the M03 national trunk road. The following bus lines procide public transport between the airport and the city of Kharkiv:

Trolleybus 5 - Airport - Universitetska Street (transfer for metro - Prospekt Gagarina)

119 - Airport - Prospekt Pobedy (transfer for metro - Prospekt Gagarina)

152 - Airport - 552nd Mikrorajon (transfer for metro - Akademika Barabashova)

225 - Airport - Metro 'Akademika Barabashova' (transfer for metro - Akademika Barabashova)

The airport also has a number of car rental offices and a large, secure, pay parking area.

Dnipropetrovsk International Airport

2011-04-20T19:57:00.001-07:00

Dnipropetrovsk International Airport (Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт "Дніпропетровськ"; Russian: Международный аэропорт "Днепропетровск") (IATA: DNK, ICAO: UKDD) is an airport located 15 kilometres (8 NM) southeast from the city center of Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine.

As of 2011 the airport's owners have initiated a program to develop a new terminal complex at Dnipropetrovsk International. This project will see the construction of a large new international terminal, similar in specifications to the newly-built terminal at Kharkiv International Airport. It is believed that once constructed, Dniproavia and all other international airlines will use the new terminal, whilst domestic and charter carriers will use the 1960s terminal which currently serves as the airport's only passenger handling facility.

Lviv International Airport

2011-04-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Lviv International Airport (Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт "Львів") (IATA: LWO, ICAO: UKLL) is an airport in Lviv, Ukraine. In 2007, the airport carried 147,700 passengers. The airport is located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from downtown Lviv. Facilities at the airport include a café and shop as well as bus services to the city.

It was previously known as the Sknyliv airfield. It was the site of the deadly Sknyliv airshow disaster in 2002.

In preparation for Euro 2012, Lviv International Airport is to undergo a $200m expansion project. Of the $200m, it is expected that the Ukrainian government will provide $70m, including $14m in 2008, and $130m will come from private investors. The expansion project will include a 700 metre extension of the existing runway and a new airport terminal capable of handling up to 1,220 passengers per hour (5.69 million annually).

To accommodate this, restrictions have been put into place:

1. The runway will be temporarily shortened, resulting in difficulties for Turkish Airlines' A319 jets and Lufthansa's CRJ's. Lufthansa has switched Summer 2011 flights to ARJ85 jets to compensate. LOT has downgraded the Embraer 175 and Boeing 737-500 jets they planned to fly to Lviv to ATR 42-500 aircraft. Turkish Airlines has not commented.

2. The airport will be closed on Tuesdays to permit expansion. All airlines excluding Dniproavia have cancelled tuesday flights to Lviv.

3. This is considered a driving force behind Wizz air Ukraine's leaving Lviv- their A320 jets cannot take off from the shortened runway. This, along with their transfer to Kiev Airport from Boryspil, has caused them to re-examine their options.

Donetsk International Airport

2011-04-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

Donetsk International Airport (Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк") (IATA: DOK, ICAO: UKCC) is an airport in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was built in the 1940s-1950s and rebuilt in 1973.

Aerosvit Airlines İstanbul-Ataturk, Kiev-Boryspil, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Tel Aviv
Armavia Yerevan
Austrian Airlines Vienna
Czech Airlines Prague [begins 25 April]
Dniproavia Ivano-Frankivsk
Georgian Airways Batumi
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw [begins 4 June]
Lufthansa Regional operated by Lufthansa CityLine Munich
TAM Air Tbilisi
Transaero Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo
Turkish Airlines İstanbul-Ataturk
Ukraine International Airlines Kiev-Boryspil
UTair Aviation Moscow-Vnukovo, Surgut

Odessa International Airport

2011-04-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

Odesa International Airport (Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт Одеса) (IATA: ODS, ICAO: UKOO) is an airport located 7 km (4.3 mi) southwest from the centre of Odessa, Ukraine, sometimes called "Odesa Central" (Одеса Центральний).

It serves both domestic and international flights. Airport's runways either were or are co-used by the Ukrainian Air Force.

The airport was built in 1961.

In 2009, the airport served 651,000 passengers.

In May 2007, the airport started construction work that includes extending the main runway.

The airport has ILS CAT I status.

Simferopol International Airport

2011-04-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

Simferopol International Airport (Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт "Сімферополь"; Russian: Международный аэропорт "Симферополь") (IATA: SIP, ICAO: UKFF) is airport in Simferopol, Ukraine. It was built in 1936.

Aeroflot Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Aerosvit Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Moscow-Vnukovo [begins 1 June]
Seasonal: Tel Aviv
AirBaltic Riga
Armavia Yerevan
Avianova Moscow-Sheremetyevo [begins 15 June]
Azerbaijan Airlines Baku [begins 16 May]
Dniproavia Kiev-Boryspil
Kavminvodyavia Moscow-Vnukovo
Khors Aircompany Kiev-Zhulyany
Kogalymavia Surgut
Mars RK Kiev-Zhulyany
Nordavia Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Rossiya St. Petersburg
S7 Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo, Novosibirsk
Transaero Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk
Ukraine International Airlines Kiev-Boryspol
Seasonal: Frankfurt
Ural Airlines Yekaterinburg
UTair Aviation Moscow-Vnukovo
Uzbekistan Airways Samarkand, Tashkent
Wind Rose Aviation Lvov
Wizz Air Ukraine Kiev-Zhuliany

Ukraine

2011-04-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

Ukraine's history began with the Kievan Rus', the precursor to the East Slavs. From the 9th century the Kievan Rus' became a large and powerful nation but disintegrated in the 12th century. Ukraine was the center of the medieval living area of the East Slavs. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. After a chaotic period of incessant warfare and several attempts at independence (1917–21) following World War I and the Russian Civil War, it emerged on December 30, 1922 as one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's territory was enlarged westward shortly before and after World War II, and southwards in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations.

Ukraine became independent again after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Herewith began a period of transition to a market economy, in which Ukraine was stricken with an eight-year recession.Since then though, the economy experienced a high increase in GDP growth. Ukraine was caught up in the worldwide economic crisis in 2008 and the economy plunged. GDP fell 20% from spring 2008 to spring 2009, then leveled off as analysts compared the magnitude of the downturn to the worst years of economic depression during the early 1990s.

Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic (Crimea), and two cities with special status: Kiev, its capital and largest city, and Sevastopol, which houses the Russian Black Sea Fleet under a leasing agreement. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine continues to maintain the second largest military in Europe, after that of Russia. The country is home to 46 million people, 77.8 percent of whom are ethnic Ukrainians, with sizable minorities of Russians (17%), Belarusians and Romanians. The Ukrainian language is the official language in Ukraine. Russian is also widely spoken. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which has heavily influenced Ukrainian architecture, literature and music.

Ukraine: signing of the draft law

2011-03-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Ukrainian Grain Association appeals to the members of the Parliament to decline the draft law #8053* due to its discordance with the national legislation of Ukraine, and also to the standards of the International Law. The above stated law project limits the range of the business entities, which are allowed to export the commodities by the direct agricultural producers within the volumes of own production, and the Government Agent for export provision of the objects of the state price regulation.

Thus, the domestic and foreign wholesale grain enterprises will be removed from the market of the export operations.

Ukrainian Grain Association states it is not allowed to found the monopolist that will have the exceptional right to export the objects of the state price regulation.

Ukraine x-president charged over murder

2011-03-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

Ukraine's former president Leonid Kuchma has been charged in connection with the murder of the online journalist Georgy Gongadze, whose brutal slaying in 2000 triggered a national scandal.The prosecutor general's office confirmed on Thursday that Kuchma had been indicted, alleging that he had been responsible for "abuse of power leading to the death of the journalist Georgy Gongadze". But it stopped short of saying that the ex-president, who was in office from 1994 to 2005, had personally ordered the hit on Gongadze.Prosecutors opened a criminal case against Kuchma on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Kyiv the following day, he said that he felt "calm", adding that he was "ready to go through all the torments of hell so everybody knows what I've done and what I haven't done

Ukraine bad asset bank

2011-03-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ukraine will move bad assets from three nationalised banks into one of them, Rodovid, to revive others, the Finance Ministry said on Friday, a move towards making good on its commitments under an IMF bailout.

Ukraine has pledged to sort out problems in the banking sector under the $15 billion programme that it agreed with the International Monetary Fund last July.

The Fund has delayed the next $1.6 billion disbursement under the programme after Ukraine missed a deadline on implementing a pension reform and sought to soften a planned energy price hike for consumers.

Congratulates Iran on Nowruz

2011-03-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

International Day of Nowruz by the UN General Assembly indicates that this holiday, with its rich cultural heritage and centuries-old tradition, plays an important role in enhancing relations between nations based on mutual respect and good neighborly relations, and promotes mutual cultural enrichment,” a congratulatory message released on Ukraine's presidential website read.

Yanukovych also wished President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad good health and called for the further expansion of relations and cooperation between Kiev and Tehran.

Nowruz, which coincides with the first day of spring on the solar calendar, is mostly celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

For Iranians, Nowruz is a celebration of renewal and change, a time to visit relatives and friends, and pay respect to senior family members.

Iranians welcome the New Year by wearing new clothes and setting the Haft Seen, a table containing seven items starting with the letter 'S'; Sabzeh (freshly grown greens), Samanu (sweet wheat paste), Senjed (jujube), Seeb (apple), Seer (garlic) and Somagh (sumac).

In a congratulatory televised address on the occasion of Nowruz (on Monday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei named the year 1390 (March 2011-2012) as "The Year of Economic Jihad."

Ayatollah Khamenei also called on Iranian officials and nation to make Jihad-like efforts in order to lay the ground for a decade of economic growth.

Sell of Naftogaz is a crime

2011-03-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said that the government's intention to privatize a portion of Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogaz is a crime.

I think that a real corruption scandal is brewing in Ukraine," she said at a briefing at the Zhuliany Airport on Friday, after returning from Brussels.

"The fact that they are currently planning to take control of some of the [company's] shares and pay almost nothing for them is definitely a crime," she said.

Tymoshenko said that this was linked to the government's intentions to "partially privatize in the shadows" the country's gas transport system, as well as gas storage facilities and entire gas production.

As reported, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych earlier said he did not rule out that a portion of Naftogaz could be sold

Boryspil International Airport

2011-03-21T04:21:00.000-07:00

Boryspil International Airport (IATA: KBP, ICAO: UKBB) is an international airport located 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Boryspil, 29 km (18 mi) east of Kiev. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving the major part of international flights of the country, and is one of three airports that serve Kiev, along with the smaller Zhulyany Airport and Gostomel Airport, a cargo facility used primarily by Antonov. The airport is a member of Airports Council International.

History

On 22 June 1959, the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR ordered establishment of regular civil air traffic to the then military airfield near Boryspil. On 7 July 1959 the new airport (named Kiev-Tsentralnyi) received its first scheduled flight. It was Aeroflot's Tupolev Tu-104 en route from Moscow, carrying 100 passengers and about 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) of cargo aboard. The first routes served were Moscow–Kiev–Moscow and Leningrad–Kiev–Leningrad.

In November 1960, the first permanent air group consisting of Tu-104 and Antonov An-10 planes was assigned to the airport. Until then the airport had been served only by aircraft based in Moscow and other cities of the Soviet Union. A new passenger terminal of Boryspil airport was opened in 1965. Later that year an automatic landing assistance system was installed in the airport.

In 1963 the Ukrainian Territorial Administration of Civil Aviation formed its Boryspil subdivision consisting of the airport and its air group. The air group grew significantly in 1960-1970s. As of 1974 it was consisting of four fleets of turbofan aircraft (Tu-104, Tu-134, Tu-154 planes) and two fleets of turboprop aircraft (Ilyushin Il-18 planes).

Towards the final decades of the Cold War, the Soviet Air Force maintained a presence at the airport with 1 VTAP (1st Military Aviation Transportation Regiment) flying Ilyushin Il-76 cargo jets.

By 1980s, Boryspil airport had begun receiving limited international flights. The additional passenger services and customs/border control groups were established for that purpose. However, ordinary Soviet citizens were not allowed to depart abroad from Kiev, instead being restricted to flying only from Moscow airports. In the late 1980s, Mikhail Saakashvili, the President of modern Georgia, served his conscript service in the Soviet border guard's Boryspil Separate Group that was maintaining border control in the airport.

In 1993 the Ministry of Transportation of the newly-independent Ukraine reorganized the airport into the Boryspil State International Airport and created a local subdivision of Air Ukraine to serve it. The airport was opened for any passengers and flights. The number of air- and passenger traffic has been growing ever since.

Early in the 2000s, Boryspil became a hub airport serving not only destined but also transit flights of the foreign airlines. The strategy of the airport's development is stressing the hub role since domestic passenger demand is growing insufficiently compared to the possible transit traffic.

In 2001, a new runway was completed and the airport carried 1.5 million passengers. The airport has ILS CAT IIIa status.

In 2002 the airport was certified under the ISO 9001 quality management system.

It is one of Eastern Europe's largest airports with over six million passengers travelling in 2008. The Airport consistently accounted for between 60% and 70% of Ukraine’s air travel demand, and despite a drop of 13% in 2009 it handled 5.8 million passengers last year, more than it handled in 2007.

Development

Boryspil International Airport handles most of Ukraine's international traffic. Terminal B, with only eleven gates, two of which were air bridges, was not enough to handle all international flights from the airport. This was the reason for the expansion of that terminal, which started in 2005. The first-stage expansion of Terminal B was opened on 27 January 2006. In 2008, passport control within Terminal B Departures was moved further east (along with the entrance to the main duty-free shop so that it remains airside).

There are also plans to expand the airport further by building several new terminals. The government has been having meetings with the owners of land around the airport, trying to buy more land for airport expansion. The construction of Terminal D was approved on 28 July 2008 and is expected to be completed by 2011 at a cost of UAH 1,661 billion. The terminal will have a capacity of 1,500 passengers per hour and cover an area of 44.9 hectares. Platform M, which is connected to Terminal B and requires redevelopment, was to be reconstructed in 2009-2010. The reason for the delay in its the reconstruction was the fact that Terminal B needs to be fully operational first. When Terminal D opens (building began on 24 October 2008), platform M can be reconstructed without having a major impact on traffic.

A new runway will be constructed from 2012 to 2014. The construction of Terminal E is slated to be completed by 2012 (should funding and planning permission be in order) and it will have a capacity of 2,000 passengers per hour. As of November 1, 2010, Terminal F is in operation. By 2020, if all plans proceed, the airport should have a capacity of 18 million passengers per year.

New hotels will also open near Boryspil Airport. A Radisson hotel at Boryspil airport will open in late 2011.

On January 14, 2011, WizzAir announced that it will be moving its hub to Kiev's Zhulyany Airport.

Volare Airlines (Ukraine)

2011-03-21T04:18:00.001-07:00

Volare Airlines was an airline based in Kiev, Ukraine. It was established in 1994 and operated its first charter flight in November 1995. It operated charter and regular flights from its base airports at Rivne and Kiev.

History

The airline was shut down by the Ukrainian civil aviation authority over safety concerns in 2009. The carrier was also blacklisted by the European Union.

Services

Volare Airlines operates air cargo flights within Ukraine and CIS, Europe, Middle East, Far East and Africa.

Ukraine International Airlines

2011-03-21T04:17:00.000-07:00

CJSC Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) (Ukrainian: ЗАТ "Авіакомпанія "Міжнародні Авіалінії України", Mizhnarodni Avialiniyi Ukrayiny, [ˌmiʒnɑˈrɔdni ˌɑwijɑˈʎiɲiji ukrɑˈjɪnɪ]) is the flag carrier of Ukraine, based in Kiev. It operates scheduled domestic and international passenger and cargo services to cities in western Europe. Its main base is Boryspil International Airport (KBP). Also, it is the largest airline in Ukraine.

History

The airline was established on 1 October 1992, and started operations on 25 November 1992. It was one of the first joint ventures with foreign capital in Ukraine and was the first airline in the CIS to introduce new Boeing 737 aircraft. The founding shareholders were the Ukrainian Association of Civil Aviation and Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), an Irish aircraft-leasing company. In 1996, Austrian Airlines and Swissair became shareholders, investing US$9 million in new equity. In 2000, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development became a shareholder by investing $5.4 million. In February 2011 Ukrainian government sold its 61,6% stake in UIA to three existing minority shareholders for Hr.287 million ($36.2 million). Currently, the airline is owned by UIA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (59%), UIA Holding (26%), and Capital Investment Project (15%).

Its growth plans that included expansion into Eastern Europe and North America were brought to a halt by a rapid expansion of its domestic rival, private Aerosvit Airlines. As the routes it was intending to introduce had already been taken up by its more aggressive competitor, Ukraine International has had to concentrate on its core Western European destinations.

Aerosvit Airlines

2011-03-21T04:15:00.001-07:00

Closed joint stock company "AEROSVIT AIRLINES" (Ukrainian: ЗАТ "Авіакомпанія "АЕРОСВІТ"), operating as AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines (Ukrainian: АероСвіт - Українські Авіалінії) which is one of the two Ukrainian flag carriers, operates currently the largest network (among other Ukrainian carriers) of scheduled international flights, performing scheduled domestic and international services directly or by code share to over 70 destinations including long-haul international services to China, India, Thailand, Canada and the USA, as well as charter services. Its main base is Boryspil International Airport, Kyiv.

Claude Lanzmann

2011-03-02T07:28:00.000-08:00

Claude Lanzmann (born 1925 in Paris) is a French filmmaker and professor at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.

Lanzmann attended the Lycée Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand. He joined the French resistance at the age of 18 and fought in Auvergne. Lanzmann opposed the French war in Algeria and signed the 1960 antiwar petition Manifesto of the 121.

Lanzmann's most renowned work is the nine-and-a-half hour documentary film Shoah (1985), which is an oral history of the Holocaust, and is broadly considered to be the foremost film on the subject. Of particular note is that Shoah is made without the use of any historical footage, and only utilizes first-person testimony from Jewish, Polish, and German individuals, and contemporary footage of several Holocaust-related sites.

Lanzmann persuaded Polish resistance fighter Jan Karski to be a witness in Shoah by calling forth—once again—his historical responsibility. Simultaneously, the complete text appeared in English translation, with introductions by Lanzmann and Simone de Beauvoir, providing multiple keys to the philosophical and linguistic preoccupations of the producers. It was also through Shoah that many viewers were first introduced to the work of American Holocaust historian Raul Hilberg.

Lanzmann has disagreed, sometimes angrily, with attempts to understand the why of Hitler, stating that the evil of Hitler cannot or should not be explained and that to do so is immoral and an obscenity.

Lanzmann is chief editor of the journal Les Temps Modernes, which was founded by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. In 2009, Lanzmann published his memoirs under the title "Le lièvre de Patagonie" (The Patagonian Hare).

Filmography)

Tsahal (1994)

A Visitor from the Living (1997)

Sobibor, Oct. 14, 1943, 4 p.m (2001)

The Karski Report (2010)

Bibliography

“From the Holocaust to the Holocaust”. Telos 41 (Fall 1979). New York: Telos Press.

Lanzmann, Claude (1985), Shoah: An Oral History of the Holocaust;The Complete Text of the Film, New York: Random House

Tags:HollyWood Stars, World Twitter, UK Finder

(source:wikipedia)

London Fashion Week February 2011

2011-02-21T06:34:00.000-08:00

London Fashion Week February 2011 is underway once again, presenting an innovative and diverse schedule with emerging talent showing side by side with iconic British designers and brands to an expected audience of over 5,000 buyers, T.V. and radio crews, fashion editors and writers. London Fashion Week is the international showcase for one of the UK’s most important creative industries.

The BFC is delighted to be playing host to a record number of American buyers. Barneys and Saks fifth Avenue, regular visitors to London Fashion Week, are being joined by Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus and boutiques such as Opening Ceremony and H. Lorenzo, who are attending for the very first time. French and Italian interest is as keen as ever with Colette, Le Bon Marche and L’Eclaireur, La Rinascente, Biffi and Penelope, among others , all visiting London Fashion Week this February. Other European and Eurasian markets strongly represented include Belgium, Spain, Germany, Russia and Ukraine while China is becoming an exciting new consumer of UK fashion with multi-brand stores emerging in Beijing and Shanghai, joining representatives from the big department stores from Hong Kong such as Joyce and Lane Crawford. Meanwhile, Japanese support for British design goes from strength to strength with significant orders from the likes of Isetan, Beams and Takashimaya.

Top international press include Editors-in-Chief from six editions of Vogue – Anna Wintour US Vogue, Australia’s Kirstie Clements, Daniela Falcao from Brazil, Cristiane Arp from German Vogue and Franca Sozzani of Vogue Italia as well as the newly appointed Emanuelle Alt of French Vogue. France is also represented by Le Figaro, Le Monde, Grazia and L’Express while a strong American showing includes Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Interview, Marie Claire, The New York Times, V and W Magazines. Fashion publications and broadcasters from Scandinavia, Benelux, South America, Eastern Europe and the Far East are all sending internationally renowned stylists, fashion editors, writers and bloggers.

Such impressive international presence at London Fashion Week is in large part due to the BFC‘s Guest Programme supported by UK Trade & Investment. The Guest Programme was set up in 2002 as part of a scheme to promote London Fashion Week internationally. The focus in the early seasons was on the American, French and Japanese markets and was targeted at buyers but now the scheme is offered to leading members of press as well and guests come from a large number of territories. Over the last eight years the programme, which forms part of the BFC’s strategy of business support for emerging British talent, has generated significant press coverage and substantial orders and has directly contributed to the success of many British fashion designers especially the recipients of the BFC’S fashion initiatives NEWGEN sponsored by Top Shop, Fashion Forward supported by Coutts & Co and Vogue’s Fashion Fund.

International press and buyers come to London for the creative energy and raw talent on show but the BFC’s Guest Programme scheme also enables London Fashion Week to compete with the brand-led markets of New York, Paris and Milan in terms of the quantity and quality of designers showing and the business and advertising revenue this subsequently generates.

Susan Haird, Acting Chief Executive of UK Trade and Industry comments,“London Fashion Week is an excellent platform for British designers to showcase to the international fashion community the creative, edgy brilliance of our multi-billion pound fashion industry, which is worth £21 billion to the UK economy and supports 1.31 million jobs. We look forward to partnering once again with the British Fashion Council to assist new and exciting designers make their mark in key international markets.”

(source:creativeboom.co.uk)

Ukraine Cooperates With the United States in the Energy Sector

2011-02-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

KYIV, Ukraine, February 21, 2011 /Ukraine Twitter/ -- Governments of Ukraine and the United States discussed further cooperation in the nuclear energy sector and signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of shale gas exploration in Ukraine, as reports the press service of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine. The issues of the Ukrainian energy sources diversification such as LNG-terminal construction and exhausted gas fields rehabilitation were also discussed during the second session of a Ukrainian-American working group on energy security.

The Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Yuriy Boyko emphasized the necessity to further develop Ukraine's cooperation with the U.S. in the nuclear energy sector in the area of nuclear plants' safety enhancement, extending life of existing reactors, nuclear fuel supplies and building storage facilities for the depleted fuel. He noted that Ukraine is interested to continue implementation of the International Nuclear Safety Program, the ten-year long (1993-2003) U.S. Department of Energy initiative in safety improvement of nuclear power plants built in the Soviet time.

In addition to nuclear safety, the minister also discussed the ways to diversify Ukrainian energy production. One such method could be the increase of shale gas production, which has recently changed the situation at the world gas market. According to the preliminary scientific studies, Ukraine has significant potential for its shale gas bearing formations.

Both Ukrainian and the U.S. governments plan to implement projects aimed at rehabilitation of the exhausted gas fields in Ukraine. Yuriy Boyko noted that the Ukrainian state-owned companies such as Naftogaz and Ukrnafta need technological cooperation to increase gas recovery in the insufficient or exhausted fields.

Yuriy Boyko also spoke of the steps undertaken by the Ukrainian government in order to diversify energy resources and natural gas suppliers. "Ukraine is interested in cooperation with American energy companies in order to complete the LNG-terminal project," said the minister.

Furthermore, Ukraine hopes to diversify the supply of liquefied natural gas from North Africa, Middle East and Azerbaijan. So far, Azerbaijan has confirmed its intention to sell Ukraine five billion cubic meters of LNG per year. The construction of the LNG terminal in the Black Sea region with the capacity of 10 billion cubic meters is planned for 2014.

(source:prnewswire.com)

Ukraine to Develop its own Modern Missile Complex

2011-02-21T06:07:00.000-08:00

KYIV, Ukraine, February 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ukraine will build its own up-to-date missile complex called Sapsan. The new multi-functional missile complex is expected to combine the features of a tactical missile complex and a multiple rocket launcher. This was announced during the visit of the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to Kharkiv City, Eastern Ukraine.

The missile range stated by the developer (the Pivdenne Design Bureau in Dnipropetrovsk) is up to 280 kilometers. The new weapon is expected to be tested in 2012-2013 and enter service in 2015. The estimated construction cost of the new missile system is 3.5 billion UAH (USD 440 mln.)

When asked about the readiness of the modern Sapsan missile complex, Viktor Yanukovych reassured that the government is set to carry out this plan within the shortest timeframe as well as to make sure the project is properly financed. The president has referred to Sapsan as to the "most up-to-date" missile system to be constructed in Ukraine.

In addition, the Ukrainian president highlighted that the government plans to back up Ukraine's participation in preparation of the space launching site in Brazil and support such major projects as Dnipro, and Cyclone-4.

In recent years Ukraine has occupied one of the world's leading positions among the countries that produce rocket launchers. Another world-known achievement of Ukraine is production of the ecologically sensitive rocket complex Zenit, one of the best rocket carriers with a fully automated preparation and launching process. The carrier is produced by Pivdenne Design Bureau. Zenit will serve as a base for creating an entire family of prospective space carriers. Moreover, Kharkiv based design bureau Khartronis a leading think-tank of Ukrainian missile construction industry. Khartron is among the three design bureaus in the world, capable to produce sophisticated missile control systems. Ukraine is one of the three successors of the Soviet Union's space industry potential. Moreover, Ukraine is one of the five countries in the world, which has a complete rocket production cycle. Ukrainian companies that work in the space industry utilize most of the known space technologies and participate in 50 international space projects.

(source:prnewswire.com)

Gazprom says no revision of gas contract with Ukraine

2011-02-21T06:05:00.000-08:00

Russian gas giant Gazprom is not planning to revise its gas supply contract with Ukraine, CEO Alexei Miller said on Monday.

"Under the current contract, gas is supplied with a 30% discount compared to the price for European consumers. We do not plan any changes to the price formula or the contract," Miller said.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it wanted to revise the contract. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said recently that Kiev would continue pressing for changes to the price formula.

After Russia Ukrainian economy

2010-08-03T04:32:00.000-07:00

After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied the unique equipment (for example, large diameter pipes) and raw materials to industrial and mining sites (vertical drilling apparatus) in other regions of the former USSR. Shortly after independence in August 1991, the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework........

Read More:http://wsjr.nl/Ukraine.html

Semi Final Stars South africa

2010-07-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

Germany national football team

Manuel Neuer

Sponsor:Click2.infoManuel Neuer (German pronunciation: [ˈmaːnu̯ɛl ˈnɔʏ.ɐ]; born 27 March 1986 in Gelsenkirchen) is a German footballer and the current goalkeeper of Schalke 04. Neuer's hero and idol as a child was fellow German and former Schalke goalkeeper Jens Lehmann^.

Tim Wiese

Tim Wiese (German pronunciation: [ˈtɪm ˈviːzə]; born 17 December 1981 in Bergisch Gladbach) is a German goalkeeper who currently plays for Werder Bremen and the German national team. He joined them in 2005 from Kaiserslautern.

Hans-Jörg Butt

Hans-Jörg Butt (German pronunciation: [ˈhants ˈjœʁk ˈbʊt]; born 28 May 1974 in Oldenburg) is a German footballer who currently plays for FC Bayern Munich in the German League, as a goalkeeper.
Known for taking penalty kicks (he has netted nearly 30 goals in Germany's top flight) Butt has played for Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in his country, having arrived at Munich already aged 34.
During his career, Butt has scored three times from the penalty spot against Juventus, once with each club.

Marcell Jansen

Marcell Jansen (born 4 November 1985 in Mönchengladbach) is a German footballer who plays for Hamburger SV and the German national team. He is well known for his accurate crossing and pace, despite his tall stature. Jansen has represented his country on 30 occasions so far, showing up as left-back. On club level he has also played on the left of midfield and left wingback, back in his youth years, also featured as left winger and even striker, a term declaring his versatility. He appeared in injury time during UEFA Euro 2008 as striker.

Arne Friedrich

Arne Friedrich (German pronunciation: [ˈaɐ̯nə ˈfʁiːdʁɪç], born 29 May 1979 in Bad Oeynhausen) is a German football defender, who currently plays for VfL Wolfsburg and the German national football team.
As of July 2010, Friedrich has represented his country on 77 occasions, his debut coming in the 2–2 draw against Bulgaria in Sofia on 21 August 2002.
He was included in the 23-man squad for the 2006 World Cup, where Germany finished third. Friedrich started almost every game and was very instrumental in getting Germany to the Third Place match. He is a very versatile player, playing full back, center back, and occasionally a more midfield position. He was also called up to Germany's Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 squads.

Dennis Aogo

Dennis Aogo (born 14 January 1987 in Karlsruhe) is a German footballer of partly Nigerian descent who plays for Hamburger SV.

Serdar Tasci

Serdar Tasci (Turkish: Serdar Taşçı, pronounced [ˈserdær ˈtæʃtʃɯ]) (born 24 April 1987) is a German football player of Turkish descent, who currently plays as a defender for Stuttgart and the German national team. Tasci usually plays as a centre back or right back.

Holger Badstuber

Holger Badstuber ([ˈhɔlɡɐ ˈbaːtˌʃtuːbɐ], born 13 March 1989 in Memmingen) is a German footballer who is currently playing as a defender for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and internationally for Germany.

Per Mertesacker

Per Mertesacker (born 29 September 1984 in Hannover) is a German footballer who plays as a defender for Werder Bremen and the Germany national football team. Despite his intimidating height, his game is unusually clean for a defender, evident by his relatively few bookings. He is known for having a penchant for scoring headers from set-pieces and corners due to his height advantage.

Philipp Lahm

Philipp Lahm (born 11 November 1983 in Munich, Germanyis a German professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bayern Munich and is the interim captain of the German national team, following the absence of Michael Ballack who withdrew because of an injury.

Jérôme Boateng

Jérôme Boateng (born 3 September 1988 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf) is a German footballer who plays as primarily a central defender, although able to play as a full back on either side. He has agreed a five-year deal to join E

nglish club Manchester City after the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Sami Khedira

Sami Khedira (Ar:سامي خضيرة) - (born 4 April 1987 in Stuttgart) is a German footballer player of partial Tunisian descent, who plays for VfB Stuttgart. Khedira has been at the club since 1995 and won the Bundesliga title in the 2006–07 season.

Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger (pronounced [ˈbasti̯an ˈʃvaɪnʃtaɪɡɐ] born 1 August 1984 in Kolbermoor, Germany) is a German footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Bayern Munich and the German national team. A right-footed player, he occupied a central role during the 2009–10 season. During the 2010 Champions League Final he played centre-midfield: the position he occupied for most of the season. He is one of the longest-serving players at Bayern, having been at the club since he was a teenager.

Mesut Özil

Mesut Özil(German pronunciation: [ˈmeːzʊt ˈœzɪl], Turkish: [ˈmesut ˈøzil]; born 15 October 1988 in Gelsenkirchen) is a German professional footballer of Turkish originwho plays for Werder Bremen and the German national football team.

Piotr Trochowski

Piotr Trochowski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈpjɔtr trɔˈxɔfski]; born 22 March 1984) is a Polish-born German footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Hamburger SV and the German national team. He is known for his powerful shots and skillful dribbling.

Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos (born 4 January 1990 in Greifswald) is a German international footballer who plays for Bayern Munich as an attacking midfielder. He is the older brother of Werder Bremen forward Felix Kroos.

Marko Marin

Marko Marin (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Марин) (born 13 March 1989 in Gradiška, now Bosnia and Herzegovina) is a German footballer of Bosnian Serb origin playing for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga as a winger.

Stefan Kießling

Stefan Kießling (German pronunciation: [ˈʃtɛfan ˈkiːslɪŋ]; born 25 January 1984 in Lichtenfels) is a German footballer who currently plays as a striker for Bayer Leverkusen. Since he arrived in 2006, he has played 130 games for the club, scoring 50 goals. He has also represented Germany five times.

Lukas Podolski

Lukas Podolski (German pronunciation: [ˈluːkas poˈdɔlski]); born Łukasz Podolski IPA: [wu'kaʃ poˈdɔlski]) on 4 June 1985 in Gliwice, Poland) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Köln and for the German national team. He joined 1. FC Köln in 1995 where he broke into the first team in 2003 and made 81 appearances for the club before moving to Bayern Munich. After three years in Munich with mixed success, Podolski returned to Köln. He was first capped in 2004 and has been part of the squad in all major tournaments since then. Although he was eligible to play for Germany and Poland, Podolski chose to play for Germany.

Miroslav Klose

Miroslav Klose (German pronunciation: [ˈmɪʁoslaf ˈkloːzə] ; born Mirosław Marian Kloze IPA: [miˈrɔswaf ˈklɔzɛ] on 9 June 1978 in Opole, Poland) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Since bursting onto the international stage at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he has become well-known for his knack of scoring headers and his front-flip goal celebration routine.
Klose plays internationally for the German national team. Although Polish by birth, Klose holds German nationality. He was the top scorer and thus the Golden Boot winner at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with five goals. Klose also scored five goals in his debut World Cup, the 2002 World Cup hosted jointly by the Korea Republic and Japan. He scored in his first game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, opened the scoring against England in the first round of the knock out stages, and scored twice on his 100th cap against Argentina in the quarter-finals, giving him a total of 14 goals in World Cup finals. This puts him joint second along with Gerd Müller on the list of FIFA World Cup goalscorers.
He is the first German player since German reunification to finish as the World Cup's top scorer, and the only player to have scored five or more goals in consecutive World Cups. Natural with the head, he was first team roster before injuries took him out of the team for a while, and during his rest Ivica Olić took over, impressing, and replaced Klose as Louis van Gaal's first team striker.

Thomas Müller (footballer)

Thomas Müller (German pronunciation: [ˈtoːmas ˈmʏlɐ]) (born 13 September 1989 in Weilheim) is a German international footballer who plays for Bayern Munich.
Müller plays as a midfielder or forward, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking midfielder, second striker, or on either wing.He has been praised for his pace, technique and composure, and has shown consistency in both scoring and creating goals.A product of Bayern's youth system^,he made his first-team breakthrough under new Bayern manager Louis van Gaal during the 2009–10 season, playing almost every game as the club won the league and cup double, and reached the Champions League final.This earned him an international call-up, and at the end of the season he was named in Germany's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he scored two goals in the round of 16 match against England to take Germany through to the quarter finals, making him the youngest player since Pele to sc

Cacau

Claudemir Jerônimo Barretto (born 27 March 1981 in Mogi das Cruzes), commonly known as Cacau, is a Brazilian-born German football striker who is currently playing for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. Cacau received German citizenship in February 2009, he made his international debut in May that year in a friendly match against China PR. He is part of the German national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[ore multiple goals in a knockout round, and the youngest German since Franz Beckenbauer to do so in any game.

Mario Gómez

Mario Gómez García (born 10 July 1985 in Riedlingen) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga. Gómez joined Bayern after six years in Stuttgart. The fee was a record for a player transferred in the Bundesliga, estimated to be €30–35 million. When Stuttgart became champions in 2006–07 and Gómez contributed 14 goals he was elected German footballer of the year. In the following seasons Gómez has improved on his record each time, scoring 35 goals over the course of the 2008–09 season.

Source:German_national_football_team

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Spain national football team

Sponsor:Click2.info

Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas Fernández Spanish pronunciation: [ˈiker kaˈsiʎas]; (born 20 May 1981 in Móstoles,Madrid) is a Spanish football goalkeeper who plays for the Spanish La Liga club Real Madridand serves as captain for the Spanish national team. He is currently first-choice goalkeeper for both club and country and serves as a vice captain for his club. As captain of the national side, he led a young Spanish team to their first European Championship in 44 years, his first senior international honour.

Since bursting onto the scene as a teenager, Casillas has been recognised as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, illustrated by the many awards he has received. He was ranked 4th in the 2008 European Footballer of the Year voting, and also the highest ranked goalkeeper in2009.At the end of 2009 he was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year for the third consecutive time.

Víctor Valdés

Víctor Valdés i Arribas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiktor βalˈdes]; born 14 January 1982 inL'Hospitalet de Llobregat, ,Barcelona, Catalonia, is a Spanish football goalkeeper, who plays for Barcelona. He is the most successful goalkeeper in Barcelona's history, having won four La Liga titles, two Champions League titles, and one Copa del Rey title. Before joining the principal team in 2002–03 season, Víctor played for the youth teams and Barcelona B.Currently, he has a contract with Barcelona until 2014.

José Manuel Reina

José Manuel "Pepe" Reina Páez (Spanish pronunciation: [xo'se ma'nwel 'rejna 'paeθ]; born 31 August 1982), is a Spanish footballer who is currently playing as a goalkeeper for the English Premier League side Liverpool and the Spain national football team.

The son of famed FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, Reina began his career with the FC Barcelona youth team and made his La Liga debut in the 2000-01 season. He signed for Villarreal in 2004. However, he soon moved on to Liverpool and making his debut in 2005. He instantly becoming first-choice goalkeeper and won his first major honour in 2006, the FA Cup. He saved three out of four West Ham united penalties in the final to help win the trophy. In 2007, Liverpool reached the Champions League Final, matching the feat achieved by his father in 1974, but they lost to A.C. Milan. Reina has set a number of goalkeeping records for Liverpool and he won the Premier League Golden Glove award for clean sheets in four of his first five seasons at the club.

At international level, Reina played for Spain's youth team, winning the UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in 1999. He made his senior debut in 2005, and has generally been selected as the second-choice keeper behind Iker Casillas. He was part of the Spain squad for the 2006 World Cup and made one appearance in their victorious Euro 2008 campaign, earning him his first international honour.

Raúl Albiol

aúl Albiol Tortajada (born 4 September 1985 in Vilamarxant, Valencia) is a Spanishfootballer who plays for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.

Gerard Piqué

Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (Catalan pronunciation: [ʑəˈɾaɾd piˈke]; born 2 February 1987 inBarcelona, Catalonia , Spain) is a Spanish footballer, currently playing as a centre backfor Barcelona.

A product of Barça's cantera, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barcelona under Josep Guardiola's leadership, and helping Barça to become the first Spanish club ever to complete the treble. Piqué is one of four players to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o.

Carlos Marchena

Carlos Marchena López (born 31 July 1979 in Las Cabezas de San Juan, Seville,Andalusia) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Valencia CF and the Spanish national team.

Mainly a central defender with an aggressive approach, he can also pitch in as a defensive midfielder.

Carles Puyol

Carles Puyol i Saforcada (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkaɾles puˈjol]; born 13 April 1978) is a SpanishCatalan footballer who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona and internationally for the Spanish national team.

Mainly a central defender, he can also appear on either flanks, especially as a right back. He also serves as a longtime team captain for his only club FC Barcelona, after taking over fromLuis Enrique in August 2004.

Joan Capdevila

Joan Capdevila Méndez (born 3 February 1978 in Tàrrega, Lleida, Spain) is a Spanishfootballer who currently plays for Villarreal CF and Spain.

His usual position is left defender, but he is also capable of operating as a winger and, from a defensive position, often contributes with goals, although not as often as he would have liked since his skills are often focused on illusion tactics.

Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos García (born 30 March 1986 in Camas, Andalusia) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He usually plays as right or centre back.

Álvaro Arbeloa

Álvaro Arbeloa Coca (born 17 January 1983) is a Spanish football player currently playing for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He is predominantly a right back, although he can play as a central defender. During his return to Real Madrid, he has started most of the games as a left back.

Arbeloa trained with Real Madrid as a youth player, and worked his way up to the first team, making his debut in the 2004–05 season. However, he mostly played for the Real Madrid B team. He moved to Deportivo La Coruña to play first team football in La Liga in 2006, but moved to Liverpool after half a season. He cemented his place in the Liverpool first team and played in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final, although the team lost to Milan. Arbeloa made 93 appearances in his three seasons at the club. He returned to Madrid in 2009 for a fee of €6 million.

Internationally, he made his senior debut in 2008 and has played for Spain at UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, winning the former tournament. His daughter, Alba, was born 26 April 2010.

Andrés Iniesta

Andrés Iniesta Luján (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈdɾes iˈnjesta]; born 11 May 1984 in Fuentealbilla,Albacete, Castile-La Mancha) is a Spanish football midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona. His willingness to play anywhere on the pitch, coupled with a natural humility, has earned him the sobriquet El Ilusionista (The Illusionist), El Anti-Galáctico (The Anti-Galáctico), Cerebro (The Brain) and most recently Don Andrés from the Spanish press.After the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooneyasserted that he believed the midfielder to be the best player in the world.His current contract with Barcelona runs until 2015.

Xavi

Xavier Hernández i Creus (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʃaβi erˈnandeθ]; born 25 January 1980 inTerrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia), commonly known as Xavi, is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona. Widely considered among the finest playmakers in world football, Xavi was named the official Man of the match of the 2009 Champions League Final as he helped Barcelona defeat Manchester United to win their thirdChampions League-title. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008 and was one of the five finalists for the 2007-08 FIFA World Player of the Year. In all he has been capped 84 times for the Spanish national team. He is regularly cited as the best midfielder currently playing.

Cesc Fàbregas

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsɛsk ˈfaβɾəɣəs]; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder. He captains the Premier League sideArsenal and also plays for the Spanish national team.

Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16. Following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, he established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder and playmaker. He went on to break several of the club's records, earning a reputation as one of the best young players for his position of his generation.

In international football, the Spaniard's national career began when he represented the Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. As a result of his club performances, he was called up to the senior squad in 2006. He has played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008, where he helped Spain to become eventual winners in the latter.

Juan Manuel Mata

Juan Manuel Mata García (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwan manˈwel ˈmata]; born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Valencia CF, mainly as a left winger.

A clever player, he possesses great pace, intelligence,and goalscoring ability

Xabi Alonso

Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano(born 25 November 1981 in Tolosa, Basque Country, Spain) is a Spanish footballer who plays for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He is a midfielder, often playing as a deep-lying playmaker.

Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, and after a brief loan period at SD Eibarreturned to the La Liga club. John Toshack appointed Alonso as his team captain and Alonso succeeded in the role, taking Real Socieded to second place in the 2002–03 season. The Spaniard moved to Liverpool in August 2004 for £10.5 million. He won theUEFA Champions League in his first season at the club. The following season he won theFA Cup, and subsequently also the FA Community Shield. He moved to Real Madrid for the start of the 2009–10 season, in a deal worth around £30 million.

Internationally, Alonso has represented Spain in the Euro 2004, Euro 2008 tournaments and the 2006 World Cup. He made his international debut in April 2003 in a 4–0 victory against Ecuador. He won the Euro 2008 tournament with Spain.

He holds the record for the longest-range goal ever scored in open play in the Premier League, being some 61 yards away from Steve Harper's line when he netted againstNewcastle United in 2006. The season before, he scored from 78 yards with an effort against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road in the FA Cup.

Sergio Busquets

Sergio Busquets i Burgos (born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays forBarcelona, as a defensive midfielder.

Javi Martínez

Javier 'Javi' Martínez Aguinaga (born September 2, 1988 in Estella-Lizarra, Navarre) is aSpanish footballer who currently plays for Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish first division, as acentral midfielder.

David Silva

David Josué Jiménez Silva (born 8 January 1986) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Valencia CF and the Spanish national team. Silva is due to join Manchester Cityon a four-year contract subject to a medical, after his participation in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Silva is capable of playing on either wing or as a traditional number 10, and sometimes as a supporting striker.

Jesús Navas

Jesus Navas González (Spanish pronunciation: [xeˈsuz ˈnaβas]; born 21 November 1985 in Los Palacios y Villafranca, Seville) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Sevilla FC in theSpanish first division.

A right winger who can play on the left flank on occasion, his main assets are his quick dribbling and an ability to run at opposing defenders.

David Villa

David Villa Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [daˈβið ˈβiʎa]; born 3 December 1981), nicknamedEl Guaje (The Kid in Asturian), is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a striker forBarcelona and the Spanish national team.

Despite sustaining a serious injury as a child, he started his professional career withSporting de Gijón and made his debut in 2000 in Spain's Segunda División. He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, after a total of 38 goals and 80 appearances for Gijón. He made his La Liga debut at Zaragoza and scored 31 goals in 73 appearances in the next two seasons, winning the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España, his first senior honours. He joined Valencia in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million. He was the second highest scorer in the 2005–06 season with 25 goals, and was part of the Valencia team that won the Copa del Rey for a seventh time in the 2007–08 season. In 2010 he moved to Barcelona for €40 million.

Villa made his international debut in 2005 against San Marino. He has since participated in three major tournaments: 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was top scorer at Euro 2008 with four goals and another five at the 2010 World Cup. He is the second all-time scorer for Spain, trailing Raul González's record of 44 goals. Statistics (based on goal importance and the tournament they were scored in) demonstrate Villa to be the most prolific goalscorer in the world between 2005–2009, seeing the back of the net over 156 times, while the IFFHS listed him 4th in the "World's Top Goal Scorer 2009" rankings, while in 2010, he came 1st in their "2010's World Top Goalscorer at International Level" rankings. Villa has two children with his wife Patricia and often attends charity events supported by sports personalities.

Fernando Torres

Fernando José Torres Sanz (born 20 March 1984), nicknamed El Niño (The Boy in Spanish), is a Spanish footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the Spain national team as a striker.

Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system. He made his first team debut in 2001 and finished his career with the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Prior to his La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in theSegunda División, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals. He joined Liverpool in 2007, after signing for a club record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player, since Robbie Fowler in 1995–96, to score more than 20 league goals in a season. Torres became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals after scoring against Aston Villa in December 2009.

He is also a Spanish international and made his debut for the country against Portugal in 2003. He has since participated in four major tournaments, UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He did not score a goal at UEFA Euro 2004, but he scored three at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Torres scored the winning goal for Spain in their 1–0 win over Germany in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final.

Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma

Pedro Eliezer Rodríguez Ledesma (born 28 July 1987), commonly known as Pedro orPedrito, is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona.

Naturally right-footed, he plays as either a winger for forward, the ambidextrous nature of his game meaning he can play on either side of the pitch. He is excellent at finding the right position and has a powerful shot, most notably from long range.

Fernando Llorente

Fernando Llorente Torres (born February 25, 1985) is a Spanish professional footballerwho plays for Athletic Bilbao in Spain's first division, as a striker.

Source:Spain football team

Sponsor:Click2.info

Mystery still surrounds cause of Polish air tragedy

2010-04-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

POLISH INVESTIGATORS say they have uncovered no evidence that Polish president Lech Kaczynski demanded that his pilot make a fatal crash landing in fog last Saturday.

Russian authorities confirmed yesterday that they had identified the body of Polish first lady Maria Kaczynska, who died along with her husband and 94 others in the air crash near the western Russian town of Smolensk.

Her remains will be flown home today, a day after those of Mr Kaczynski. The deceased president will lie in state from today at the presidential palace in Warsaw ahead of a state funeral on Saturday.

Mystery persists about why the aircraft clipped trees and crashed in flames after Russian tests yesterday revealed no mechanical defects.

Polish authorities say the aircraft had been fitted recently with new electronic equipment and the engine had been overhauled. But diplomats familiar with the aircraft have questioned why Warsaw still used a Soviet-built Tupolev 154 “badly in need of replacement”.

“It’s hard to understand how we are involved in costly missions in Afghanistan and Iraq but are unable for years to equip our [leaders] with proper planes,” said Prof Roman Kuzniar, an international affairs analyst at Warsaw University.

That has all turned the spotlight back on Mr Kaczynski. Asked whether the pilot was pressurised to land by the president, Poland’s chief prosecutor, Andrzej Seremet, said yesterday: “At the current level of the investigation we have no such information.”

After flight recorders revealed nothing unusual, Russian investigators said yesterday they had moved on to the voice recorders.

Mindful of the continuing week of mourning, Polish media have not dared even raise the possibility that Mr Kaczynski had a role in the crash. But the Russian media have recalled how, in 2008, Mr Kaczynski demanded that a pilot land his aircraft in Tblisi in the middle of the Georgian war; the pilot refused and diverted.

A Russian flight expert suggested in the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily that the crash was caused by “VIP passenger syndrome”. But this was dismissed by a colleague of Arkadiusz Protasiuk, the crash pilot.

“He was a tough man who wouldn’t let emotions prevail over common sense,” said Tomasz Pietrzak, another government pilot, on Polish radio. “He would certainly not risk passengers’ lives.”

The crash has also prompted reflection in political circles about whether the incident might have been the indirect consequence of years of competition between the president and Polish prime minister Donal Tusk.

Last Wednesday, Mr Tusk flew to Katyn for a memorial service with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Feeling snubbed at not being invited, Mr Kaczynski, from a competing party, organised a competing event on Saturday to remember the 22,000 Polish soldiers massacred at Katyn in 1940.

“As a consequence of the crash, this unfortunate situation may finally be at an end,” said Andrzej Maciejewski, political analyst of the Sobieski Institute think tank.

Mr Kaczynski’s office published his final, undelivered speech yesterday, in which he paid tribute to the Katyn soldiers and the families who kept their memory alive, and condemned the Soviet cover-up as “the founding lie of the [communist] People’s Republic of Poland”. But the president, known for his anti-Russian tirades, saved his final words to thank Moscow for its assistance ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre.

The undelivered words carry additional poignancy now: “Let’s allow the Katyn wound to finally heal,” he planned to say. “We are already on the path; we should follow it to bring our nations closer and not stop or retreat.”

Mr Maciejewski of the Sobieski Institute said: “In future we will be able to distinguish between pre-April 10th Polish-Russian relations and post-April 10th.”

Source:Poland Twitter

In dark times Poland needs the sunlight of truth

2010-04-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

In 1943 Poland’s wartime leader accused Moscow of ordering the Katyn massacre, the systematic murder of 22,000 Polish officers and intellectuals. A few months later he was dead, the victim of an air crash. Was it murder? Almost certainly not, but Poland’s painful past, combined with official secrecy, created precisely the muggy and mysterious conditions in which conspiracy theory thrives.

In 2010 another Polish leader, President Lech Kaczynski, heads to Katyn to commemorate the appalling massacre that took place there. Within hours he too is dead, along with his wife and 94 other members of Poland’s elite, the victims of another air crash. Was this coincidence? Almost certainly, but a similar climate of suspicion ensures that the conspiracies are already sprouting, and spreading.

The thread connecting these events is secrecy, for it is concealment that turns a tragedy into a festering historical sore. Britain still has not released all the files on the death in 1943 of General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish Government-in-exile. For decades Moscow declined to admit what had happened at Katyn, and Vladimir Putin still refuses to apologise.

In the confusion and grief following the Smolensk air crash on Saturday, the whispers, rumours and accusations have begun to circulate. The Polish president’s plane, it is noted darkly, was Russian-made, and recently serviced in Russia. The Russian Government heartily disliked President Kaczynski, who had criticised Russia’s “new imperialism”. Moscow declined to invite him to a ceremony at Katyn last Wednesday — so Kaczynski decided to hold a second memorial service, and was killed en route.

Initial reports have ruled out mechanical failure, so was the pilot pressurised to make the landing by his august passengers? Polish conspiracists are already blaming the Russian secret service, while others suggest that Russian hardliners may have sought to undermine Mr Putin by sabotaging the plane.

Poland has a deeply emotional, almost mystical relationship with the story of tragedy, rebellion, courage and repression that is Polish history. The present is permanently refracted through the past. “The place is cursed,” declared Aleksander Kwasniewski, the former President, after the latest tragedy associated with Katyn.

Lech Walesa’s remark was even more telling: “This is the second Katyn tragedy; the first time they tried to cut our head off, and now again the elite of our country has perished.” Implicit is the assumption that “they”, unnamed enemies, must also lie behind Poland’s latest national calamity.

The only way to ensure against wild conspiracy theories is to conduct the crash investigation in the disinfecting sunlight; to eschew the secrecy that is Moscow’s natural instinct; and to ensure that the historical verdict on this episode is provided, or at least believed, by Poles. To do, in short, everything that Britain failed to do when investigating the death of another Polish leader, 67 years ago.

On July 4, 1943, General Sikorski, the Polish commander-in-chief of land under Nazi occupation, took off from Gibraltar in a converted RAF Liberator bomber, bound for England. A few minutes later the plane plummeted into the harbour, killing 16 passengers on board including Sikorski’s daughter, Zofia. The Czech pilot was the sole survivor.

A British court of inquiry conducted a swift and secret investigation, which ruled out sabotage but failed to establish the cause of the crash. The pilot said his controls had jammed.

The conspiracy theories erupted almost immediately, and have continued ever since. One held that the Nazis had orchestrated the crash, determined to remove a popular Polish figurehead. Even greater suspicion fell on Stalin, who had most to gain from eliminating the troublesome general. Three months earlier Sikorski had called for a Red Cross investigation into the Katyn massacres, prompting a furious Stalin to break off relations with the Polish Government-in-exile.

Alternative theories claimed that the assassination was the work of a Polish faction, or the British, keen to remove an impediment to good relations with its Soviet ally. Soldiers, a 1968 play by the German playwright Rolf Hochhuth, even suggested that Winston Churchill had played a role in the supposed assassination plot.

Many British documents relating to the crash remain classified, and for nearly seven decades the conspiracists have been allowed virtually free rein. Kim Philby, then head of MI6 counterintelligence for the Iberian Peninsula, was said to have had a hand in organising Sikorski’s death on behalf of his Moscow spymasters. Sikorski’s daughter was allegedly spotted in a Soviet gulag many years later. Sikorski himself was variously said to have been poisoned, strangled, suffocated or shot before being loaded on to the doomed plane.

Last year Polish forensic scientists exhumed the general’s corpse from a crypt in Cracow and concluded that he had died in the air crash after all. But, as Polish historians pointed out at the time, until or unless all the British and Soviet archives are released, the fate of Poland’s wartime leader will continue to be a source of friction and fantasy.

Sikorski’s plane probably crashed because someone accidentally placed luggage on the steering mechanism. An equally simple explanation — most likely pilot error — may lie behind the accident that deprived Poland of so much of its leadership last weekend.

If so, it is essential that the Polish people themselves see the truth being revealed. So far, Russia has made the right noises, promising an open investigation and agreeing to leave the aircraft at the scene.

But so long as Mr Putin heads the commission investigating the crash, Poles will wonder about the truth of its findings. Russia should invite Polish experts to take part in, and witness, every aspect of the investigation. Mr Putin has gone some way towards building a historical consensus about Katyn, even making a personal appearance at the service last week. This is another opportunity for him to demonstrate that history, as it unfolds, can bring old enemies together, as well as force them apart.

Like the Katyn massacre and the death of General Sikorski, the Smolensk crash will come to represent another tragic milestone in Poland’s history. The horror of Katyn was hidden for half a century behind Soviet lies; the fate of Sikorski was obscured, for far too long, by British secrecy. This time Poland itself should have the right to decide what really happened.

Source:Poland Twitter

News on sale

2010-04-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

Source: G news

Orange Revolution left indelible mark on Ukraine

2010-03-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

THE Orange Revolution may be dead after the Ukrainian parliament turfed its leadership last week, but its pro-democracy ghost will haunt Ukraine for a long time, says a Winnipegger who helped nudge the country in that direction.

"Ukraine is developing -- warts and all -- as a democratic system where everyone more or less plays by the rules," said Ostap Skrypnyk, who was among hundreds of Canadians who served as election observers in Ukraine in 2004.

"I think five years ago was the first time people really took charge of their lives and played a really active role in the political life of the country and that probably hasn't changed," said the former executive director of the Winnipeg-based Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

The 2004 vote was held after Ukrainian citizens took to the streets en masse wearing bright orange scarves to protest the fraud-tainted presidential election of pro-Russian, Kremlin-friendly Viktor Yanukovych.

Ukraine's Supreme Court overturned his election. A new vote, with more than 500 election observers from Canada, ended in defeat for Yanukovych and a win for pro-Western reformer Viktor Yushchenko.

Yulia Tymoshenko became his prime minister, but their relationship eroded and nearly paralyzed Ukraine's government as it struggled with the global economic downturn.

The Ukrainian parliament ousted the government of Orange coalition leader Tymoshenko in a non-confidence vote last week.

She lost last month's presidential election to the Orange coalition's foe, Yanukovych. He narrowly won the presidential election, which international observers called mostly free and fair.

"That's one of the legacies," said Skrypnyk, who believes the Orange Revolution deserves some of the credit. "On the whole, (the election) was more or less free and open."

Orange may be out, but it left an indelible mark on Ukraine, he said.

"There's an active civil society in Ukraine. Freedom of the press was one of the major achievements of the revolution... Some of these things are still with us -- they're not going to go backward with that."

Source:winnipegfreepress.com/

Ukraine, Russia dominate biathlon medals

2010-03-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

Canada's biathletes didn't come away with any medals on Day 1 of the 2010 Paralympic Games.

Victories were other story.

There was 45-year-old Smithers, B.C., school teacher Jody Barber placing 10th in the women's threekilometre pursuit (standing). She's only been on skis for three years.

From the other end of the country and the age span came Springton, P.E.I.'s Mark Arendz. The face of the War Amps organization in television ads, he's 20 and now a face of the Paralympic program after a seventh-place finish men's three-km pursuit (standing).

And then there were the McKeevers, Brian, the cross country ski stud who also made the 2010 Canadian Olympic team and his guide, brother Robin. They reached the final in the men's three-km pursuit (visually impaired) despite battling the flu for the past week.

Six gold medals were handed out Saturday. Russia won three of them, Ukraine two and Germany one.

Ukraine's won gold from Vitaliy Lukyanenko with guide Volodymyr Ivanov in the three-km pursuit (visually impaired) and from Olena Iurkovska in women's 2.4-km pursuit (sitting). Russia won gold from Kirill Mikhaylov in the men's three-km pursuit (standing), Irek Zaripov in men's 2.4-km pursuit (sitting) and Anna Burmistrova in women's threekm pursuit (standing).

Para-alpine events delayed

Whistler / Fog, a persistent problem at Whistler Creekside throughout the 2010 Winter Olympics, wreaked havoc with the opening day of para-alpine skiing.

Men's and women's downhills were scheduled for Saturday in all categories -- visually impaired, sit ski and standing -- but after some early morning sunny breaks did allow the standing men to get in a required training, fog rolled in.

The racing was to have started at in the late morning, but several delays pushed the start time back.

By the middle of the afternoon, fog had covered most of the hill and it appeared very unlikely that racing would go at all, which was eventually confirmed by the Vancouver Organizing Committee.

It is a bad sign for organizers, with only one full off day on the alpine schedule to reschedule the events.

Super-G races are set to go in all categories today, but the weather forecast isn't good through Tuesday.

Canada had a realistic shot at four medals in the downhill, with visually impaired skiers Chris Williamson and Vivianne Forest and women's standing competitor Lauren Woolstencroft having dominated their categories on the World Cup circuit. The other medal possibility would have come in men's sit ski, where Josh Dueck of Vernon, B.C., is the reigning world champion.

With files from Gary Kingston

Source:edmontonjournal.com/

Ukraine is not on the verge of default - FinMin

2010-03-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

The government pension fund alone is short of 25 billion hryvnais ($3.1 billion), and investors worry Kiev might have problems repaying its short-term domestic debt, which it has been issuing in increasing volumes and at sky-high yields as an economic crisis takes its toll.

"The previous government has masked that the financial state of the country was on the brink of catastrophe ... I assure you there is no (threat of default)," Yaroshenko said.

Ukraine needs to find $3-5 billion a quarter to cover budget spending and Yaroshenko confirmed the government will stick with its social obligations despite empty state coffers and rising public debt. [ID:nLDE628276]

He did not specify the potential sources of the funds the country needs to make up for the budget shortage.

The Ukraine's new Prime Minister Mykola Azarov earlier indicated the government could seek to renegotiate the IMF programme agreed by the former government.

The International Monetary Fund has already said it would consider Ukraine's request to restart its $16.4 billion loan programme, suspended last year in the run-up to presidential elections.

Source:reuters.com/

IMF Staff Team To Visit Ukraine On March 15 To 21 For Technical Meetings On Budget

2010-03-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

International Monetary Fund staff team will be visiting Ukraine from March 15 to 21 to take part in technical consultations on budget issues, reads a statement made by the IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine.

"... an IMF staff team will visit Kyiv next week to join the Resident Representative office in technical meetings on the budget," said IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine Max Allier after a meeting with Vice Prime Minister for Economy Serhii Tihipko on March 12.

As to Allier, Tihipko voiced the wish to resume political discussions with the IMF Mission.

"I indicated that the Fund stands ready to support Ukraine in its endeavor to return to a sustainable growth path," he said.

Allier assured, he would relay the request for a mission to the IMF headquarters and consult on next steps.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, President Viktor Yanukovych ordered Foreign Affairs Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko jointly with Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the National Bank of Ukraine to take measures for ensuring Ukraine's cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and with the World Bank.

Tihipko thinks that for Ukraine resumption of cooperation with the IMF is of higher priority than drawing bilateral loans from various states.

The IMF pronounced readiness for continuing cooperation with Ukraine.

Source:un.ua/

Ukraine's foreign minister to visit Russia on March 16

2010-03-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko will arrive in Russia on March 16 for a two-day working visit, Ukrainian UNIAN news agency reported on Sunday, citing a Russian diplomatic source.

The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday approved a new government on presentation from Ukraine's new President Viktor Yanukovych. The 450-seat Supreme Rada carried the decision with 240 votes against a required minimum of 226.

During his visit to Moscow Hryshchenko, who worked as Ukrainian ambassador to Moscow before his appointment as the foreign minister, will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the diplomatic source said.

"After negotiations, the ministers will sign a plan of cooperation between the foreign ministries of both countries," the diplomatic source said.

Yanukovych who was sworn in on February 25, succeeding Viktor Yushchenko, a leader of the 2004 pro-Western "Orange Revolution," has repeatedly said he wanted to improve relations with Russia.

Yanukovych has pledged to steer a more balanced policy towards Russia than Yushchenko, whose policies, including a bid to take Ukraine into NATO, saw a rapid deterioration in bilateral ties.

The new Ukrainian leader also said that "by actively cooperating with each other in all areas," Russia and Ukraine could make a return to the good relations they "always had."

Source:en.rian.ru/

Ukraine to hold no confidence vote in govt on wed

2010-03-01T08:02:00.000-08:00

New elections possible if coalition can't be formed

* PM Tymoshenko: parliament to speak on country's path

(Updates with Tymoshenko quote, Yanukovich in Brussels)

By Yuri Kulikov

KIEV, March 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament will hold a vote of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Wednesday as newly elected President Viktor Yanukovich seeks to consolidate power in the assembly.

Analysts say the fact that party leaders agreed to hold the vote showed Yanukovich's Regions Party were confident they would have enough support to pass the motion. Previous votes last month showed Tymoshenko's bloc no longer controls a majority.

If the vote succeeds, Tymoshenko and her government will remain until a new cabinet replaces them. Parliament faces weeks of horse trading to replace the ruling coalition and create a new government.

Tymoshenko lost to Yanukovich in a run-off presidential election on Feb. 7 that is expected to tip the country of 46 million people back towards Russia.

The fiery prime minister, who has refused to accept Yanukovich's victory, was in typically combative mood, telling a cabinet meeting the vote should
be held as soon as possible.

"I insist that everything be made clear in parliament," she said.

"Who in parliament supports the anti-Ukrainian, anti-democratic, anti-European development of the state with all its corruption of oligarchs, and who is for the development of democracy, the development of Ukraine's European path, the strengthening of its independence and sovereignty."

BRUSSELS, THEN MOSCOW

A new government will have to tackle a financial crisis that saw the economy contract 15 percent in 2009 and will need to restart talks with the International Monetary Fund on a suspended $16.4 billion bailout package.

If the vote passes and the Tymoshenko-led alliance formally collapses, the various parliamentary factions have 30 days to form a new coalition and 60 days to form a new government.

If this proves impossible, President Yanukovich has the right to call a new parliamentary election.

Ukraine is desperately in need of political stability after years of bitter infighting between the leaders of the pro-Western Orange Revolution of 2004.

Yanukovich has pledged to balance his country between Europe and ex-Soviet master Russia, the source of the gas that runs through Ukraine to the West.

Underscoring the point, Yanukovich made his first foreign trip as president on Monday to Brussels, where the European Union called for rapid progress on the modernisation and restructuring of Ukraine's gas sector.

The new president travels to Moscow on Friday. (Reporting by Natalya Zinets; Writing by Sabina Zawadzki and Matt Robinson; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

Source:Reuters.com

Ukraine seeks better ties with EU, Yanukovych says

2010-03-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Mr Yanukovych is seen as closer to Russia than his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko was - yet his first foreign visit as head of state is to Brussels.

"European integration is a key priority," he said after talks with EU leaders on Monday.

Mr Yanukovych said the talks focused on a planned association deal with the EU that would allow free trade.

His defeated rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, now faces a vote of no-confidence on Wednesday in the Ukrainian parliament.

She was an Orange Revolution ally of Mr Yushchenko, the former president whose pro-Western stance, including the ambition to join the EU and Nato, angered Moscow.

Mr Yanukovych pledged to "enhance" relations with Russia to ensure reliable deliveries of Russian gas to the EU via Ukraine. A dispute with Russia over gas prices disrupted supplies to the EU in January 2009.

The BBC's James Rodgers - a former Moscow correspondent - says Russia sees in Mr Yanukovych a friendlier partner than Mr Yushchenko, but its reaction to his victory has been quiet, not triumphalist.

Ukraine's foreign policy is no longer a simple question of East or West, our correspondent says. Europe also wants Ukraine and Russia to get on well.

Mr Yanukovych, who was sworn in as president last week, will head to Moscow on Friday.

Reviving the struggling Ukrainian economy is another big challenge that lies ahead of him.

The International Monetary Fund has suspended part of a $16.4bn (£10.8bn) loan for Ukraine, demanding that the government implement economic reforms.

Source:bbc:co.uk

Ukraine-Russia Relations Still Unclear

2010-02-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

KIEV, Ukraine -- As soon as his challenger had dropped a legal battle to block his inauguration this week, Ukrainian President-elect Viktor Yanukovych got a call from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. According to the Kremlin, the two men agreed that Mr. Yanukovych would visit Moscow in early March.

But Mr. Yanukovych's aides would neither confirm nor deny Sunday anything about such a visit, even though his Web site posted the Kremlin announcement. Hanna Herman, a close confidant, said the president-elect's first priority was to form a new government and deal with domestic problems.

The call from the Kremlin Saturday signals Russia's interest in reasserting a preferential relationship with its former Soviet neighbor. Yet the coy reaction in Kiev leaves it unclear which way Mr. Yanukovych will tilt Ukraine, a country of 46 million people wedged between Russia and the West.

Ukraine embraced a Western agenda after the 2004 Orange Revolution, when mass protests alleging electoral fraud overturned Mr. Yanukovych's tainted victory in that year's presidential election. Viktor Yushchenko won the revote and antagonized the Kremlin, which had openly backed Mr. Yanukovych, by trying to take Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and supporting Georgia during its 2008 war with Russia.

During the recent campaign, the Kremlin played no favorite and Mr. Yanukovych straddled the fence, calling for good relations with Russia and the European Union. Ms. Herman had indicated that his first presidential trip abroad could be to Brussels.

The question of Mr. Yanukovych's foreign policy priorities could complicate his effort to form a majority in parliament and replace Yulia Tymoshenko, his bitter rival in the presidential race, as prime minister.

Ms. Tymoshenko dropped her court challenge to the results of the Feb. 7 election Saturday, clearing the way for Mr. Yanukovych's inauguration on Thursday. She said there was no point pursuing the case after the Supreme Administrative Court refused to consider evidence she presented alleging vote falsification in favor of her opponent, who won by a margin of 3.48%.

As the political struggle turns to parliament, Mr. Yanukovych's opposition Party of Regions is trying to persuade two parties in Ms. Tymoshenko's fragile coalition to switch allegiance and oust her as prime minister.

One of those parties, Mr. Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc, is divided; its many nationalist supporters in western Ukraine are wary of Mr. Yanukovych because he has shown himself willing to take Russia's positions into account.

In interviews with Russian journalists last week, Mr. Yanukovych said he would not pursue NATO membership for Ukraine and would consider prolonging the basing of Russia's Black Sea Fleet on Ukrainian soil. The Kremlin also wants Ukraine to join a customs union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, a step that could impede Ukraine's talks on a trade agreement with the European Union.

Ms. Tymoshenko met with Our Ukraine lawmakers last week in an attempt to persuade them to stick with her coalition.

If Mr. Yanukovych fails to form a majority, he has said he would call early parliamentary elections. That prospect would prolong political uncertainty and further damage Ukraine's economy, which shrank by 15% last year.

Source:online.wsj.com/

Ukraine's Yanukovich narrows down search for PM

2010-02-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

KIEV (Reuters) - The parliamentary party of Ukrainian President elect Viktor Yanukovich has narrowed down the search for a new prime minister to three candidates, two from outside its ranks, a party source told Reuters on Sunday.

World

Yanukovich's Regions Party is attempting to form a new coalition in parliament which would be able to oust current Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko; the loser in a presidential election this month.

The post of prime minister will be key to uniting coalition parties under the Regions Party. Tymoshenko's ouster may usher in a stable government that will focus on Ukraine's economic woes and bring back International Monetary Fund lending.

The source said businessman Sergey Tigipko and former Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, neither from the Regions Party, as well as former Finance Minister Mykola Azarov were named as the most likely candidates by Yanukovich in an interview with television stations to be aired later on Sunday. "Today, there are three figures; Tigipko, Yatsenyuk and Azarov," the source said.

Tigipko, 50, came a surprise third in a first round of the presidential election and Tymoshenko and Yanukovich both tried to woo him to their side in the run up to the final round of voting. He declined to support either.

Yatsenyuk is a 35-year-old who has already held a host of positions including chairman of the central bank and speaker of parliament.

Azarov, 63, is an old stalwart of Yanukovich and has helped steer Ukraine's economy under Yanukovich's premierships in 2002-2004 and 2006-2007 as his finance minister. He was seen as a safe pair of hands who managed the state's finances well.

FINDING A COALITION

News of the three candidates came a day after Tymoshenko dropped her legal case against the election result, saying the court could not be trusted to give a fair verdict.

Tymoshenko still claims Yanukovich did not win the election legitimately, accusing his supporters of vote-rigging, even though international observers gave the election the all clear and as Western governments congratulated the president-elect.

Analysts say Tymoshenko will now focus on the fight against Yanukovich in parliament. If his supporters succeed in building a coalition, they could dismiss Tymoshenko through a vote of no confidence, paving the way for a new government.

If not, Yanukovich may be forced into calling a snap parliamentary election, an option investors fear because it would prolong instability in the country.

Tymoshenko's about-turn on Saturday left the way clear for Yanukovich to be inaugurated as president on February 25.

A Regions Party official said on Sunday the presidents of several countries including Bulgaria, Turkey, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania have confirmed they would attend the ceremony, as well as the EU foreign affairs and security chief, Catherine Ashton.

Source:reuters.com/

Court puts on hold Yanukovych victory in Ukraine presidential election

2010-02-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

A Ukrainian court has temporarily suspended the results of the February 2010 presidential election pending review of an appeal filed by Yulia Tymoshenko.

The supreme administrative court released a statement on February 17 2010 saying the Central Election Commission ruling that declared Viktor Yanukovych the winner had been put on hold, according to a report by the Voice of America.

Tymoshenko has lodged court action seeking to overturn the results of the February 7 vote. Tymoshenko, Ukraine's current prime minister, says the election was rigged. She has refused to concede defeat.

Ukraine’s parliament earlier voted to approve the swearing-in of Yanukovych on February 25 2010 as president, over the objections of the Tymoshenko camp, which boycotted the vote while Tymoshenko formally lodged her court action challenging Yanukovych’s win.

Tymoshenko went to the supreme administrative court on February 16 with crates of evidence that she says backs up her allegations of vote-rigging.

International observers have deemed the election that produced Yanukovych’s victory as in line with accepted standards, and Yanukovych already has been congratulated by the White House, the Kremlin and the European Union, among others.

Official results say that Tymoshenko lost by about 888 000 votes, while she alleges that electoral fraud deprived her of about a million votes.

Officials of Yanukovych’s Party of the Regions say that it is not possible for the court to order a repeat of the second round of presidential elections, and Tymoshenko can only challenge the conduct of the central election commission in counting the results.

Yanukovych has called more than once for Tymoshenko to step down as prime minister, a call that he repeated by saying that a defeat in court should be followed by her resignation.

Source:sofiaecho.com/

Ukraine: Yanukovych a 'usurper'

2010-02-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

Kiev - The party of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Thursday accused her triumphant election rival Viktor Yanukovych of seeking to usurp power by holding his presidential inauguration next week.

Tymoshenko has filed a complaint contending that Yanukovych's victory in presidential elections was marred by mass violations.

On Wednesday, a top court ordered that the official results be put on hold while the case is heard.

But parliament - where Yanukovych's Regions Party is the largest faction - has already set the inauguration for February 25 amid fears of a looming political crisis.

"Any actions aimed at inaugurating Viktor Yanukovych will be seen as an attempt to usurp state power," Deputy Prime Minister and top Tymoshenko ally Olexander Turchynov said in a statement published on her website.

He said that as the results had been suspended by court order, a swearing-in of Yanukovych would be no different to "inaugurating any person who has no document declaring the results of the vote."

Ukraine's supreme administrative court will start hearing the case on Friday and it is unclear whether the case will be wrapped up in time for the inauguration date.

Almost four percent

The deputy head of Tymoshenko's faction, Sergiy Sobolev, said the party was insisting that the February 25 inauguration be cancelled.

Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko by around 3.5% or just under 890 000 votes in the February 7 election, according to the final official results published on Sunday.

While Tymoshenko claimed there was mass vote fraud, international observers praised the elections and Western leaders including US President Barack Obama have already congratulated Yanukovych on his victory.

Source:news24.com/

Ukraine court suspends official election results

2010-02-18T09:42:00.000-08:00

Yulia Tymoshenko, the losing candidate in Ukraine’s presidential run-off 10 February, has lodged a complaint with the country’s Higher Administrative Court claiming that she was robbed of victory by fraud in hundreds of polling stations. The court ordered the election commission to hold off on publishing official results. Tymoshenko has not conceded defeat and refuses to relinquish her post as prime minister in the outgoing government.

The court is not likely to overturn the result, which Viktor Yanukovich won by 3.5 percentage points. Yanukovich is scheduled to be invested 25 February. Tymoshenko may be attempting to negotiate her hold on the prime ministership, according to some commentators.

Source:genevalunch.com/

Yanukovych to be sworn in as Ukraine’s president on February 25

2010-02-17T01:36:00.000-08:00

Ukraine’s parliament has voted to approve the swearing-in of Viktor Yanukovych on February 25 2010 as president, over the objections of the Yulia Tymoshenko camp, which boycotted the vote while Tymoshenko formally lodged court action challenging Yanukovych’s win.

Tymoshenko went to the supreme administrative court on February 16 with crates of evidence that she says backs up her allegations of vote-rigging, the Voice of America reported.

International observers have deemed the election that produced Yanukovych’s victory as in line with accepted standards, and Yanukovych already has been congratulated by the White House, the Kremlin and the European Union, among others.

Official results say that Tymoshenko lost by about 888 000 votes, while she alleges that electoral fraud deprived her of about a million votes.

Officials of Yanukovych’s Party of the Regions say that it is not possible for the court to order a repeat of the second round of presidential elections, and Tymoshenko can only challenge the conduct of the central election commission in counting the results.

Yanukovych has called more than once for Tymoshenko to step down as prime minister, a call that he repeated by saying that a defeat in court should be followed by her resignation.

Source:sofiaecho.com/

Ukraine leader considers post-election trip to EU capital

2010-02-17T01:30:00.000-08:00

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Ukraine's president-elect, Viktor Yanukovych, is considering going to Brussels for his first foreign trip as the country's leader in a bid to polish up his EU credentials.

Anna German, Mr Yanukovych's spokeswoman, told EUobserver on Monday (15 February) that the move is "possible," with invitations already received from both Brussels and Moscow, but that a final decision has not yet been made.

Mr Yanukovych at the EU headquarters in Brussels in 2006, during his visit as Ukraine's prime minister (Photo: European Commission)
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The country's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is to set a date for Mr Yanukovych's inauguration on Tuesday, clearing the way for foreign engagements.

Senior officials in Ukraine's foreign ministry are keen for the president-elect to demonstrate that he is serious about EU integration amid fears in the EU institutions that he will put Russian interests before pro-EU reforms.

In protocol terms, any new leader's choice of first diplomatic encounter is seen as an indicator of foreign policy priorities.

"It would be logical for the newly-elected president of Ukraine to first visit Brussels," Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, Konstantin Yeliseyev, said.

"We hope that Brussels will support the idea and for the first visit to have some deliverables on topics of mutual interest, in particular on visa issues. We are very interested in obtaining the roadmap for a visa-free regime," he added.

Ukraine has for the past two years grumbled that EU consulates in Kiev give harsh treatment to people keen to visit the bloc, spoiling popular support for integration.

For its part, the EU is concerned whether Kiev will stick to recent promises to modernise its gas distribution system, which is responsible for channeling 80 percent of Russian supplies to the bloc.

A series of new laws related to Ukraine's membership in the European Energy Community (EEC) is currently awaiting parliamentary approval.

But Mr Yanukoyvch's comments over the weekend, that he would like to see a Russian-led consortium run the country's pipeline network, have cast doubt over his attachment to the EEC reforms.

"All previous commitments undertaken with respect to the EU will not only be respected but also implemented. We are a responsible partner and we would like to show that despite the election, all our commitments will be respected," Mr Yeliseyev told this website.

Source:euobserver.com/

Ukraine's Debt Is Manageable

2010-02-17T01:23:00.000-08:00

With regard to Christopher Granville's Jan. 18 op-ed "Ukraine is Headed for National Bankruptcy": The country's debt level remains manageable. Ukraine's pre-crisis gross external debt-to-GDP stood at a healthy 57%. After the crisis erupted, debt remained stable at around $100 billion but the contraction of GDP pushed the ratio to an estimated 90% by end-2009. On this measure, Ukraine has a considerably more secure position than emerging European Union peers such as Hungary (186% by 3Q09), Bulgaria (123%) or Slovenia (119%).

Ukraine's end-2009 external public debt amounted to $24 billion, or 21% of GDP. A mere $1 billion out of this amount is due in 2010, with the country's current international reserves totaling $25.3 billion. In the private sector, refinancing the current portion of the external debt ($80 billion in total, $18-$20 billion due in 2010) is hardly a "miracle scenario" since the bulk of this amount is related-party cross-border lending in the corporate sector. Out of an estimated $28 billion that was due in 2009, 82% was rolled over.

Although the budget suffered from the economic downturn (we estimate the 2009 budget gap at about 9% of GDP, or $10 billion), Ukraine financed the deficit without extensive money printing—largely thanks to the IMF stand-by program. This helped to stabilize the currency and reduce inflation to 12.3% in 2009 from above 20% in 2008.

The global commodity recovery is supporting Ukraine's steel giants, and the economy has been growing for three successive quarters at 2.5% on average (10% annualized). We record a clear revival of local, Russian and Western interest in Ukraine's market, with the stock index up 273% from its bottom in March 2009 and 14% so far in 2010.

Source:online.wsj.com/

Ukraine Will Be a Bridge Between East and West

2010-02-17T01:16:00.000-08:00

Over the past month, Ukraine has demonstrated twice that it cherishes the values of democracy and the belief that it is important for people to vote. Ukraine's presidential election was validated by all of the major international observer groups as free, fair and transparent, which attested to the Ukrainian people's resolve for a democratic election. The people of Ukraine desired change and their voices were heard. Now we have the great responsibility to help our fellow countrymen, who have cast votes for me hoping for a better life.

This election was defined by a financial and economic crisis that has devastated our country. Before the global economic crisis, Ukraine was one of Europe's top emerging markets, and economic prosperity did not seem beyond our reach in the near term. Now all that has changed, and the people demanded change in the way our Government works in Ukraine.

We must still put an end to the political turmoil that has crippled Ukraine and held our country hostage for so long. I will work ardently to do this as president. The only way that this can be accomplished is for the top political forces and their leaders, immediately after the presidential election results have been declared and certified, to avoid confrontation and unite for the sake of saving our country. We are a nation capable of great things but we will accomplish none of them if we continue to bicker among ourselves and ignore the enormous challenges that we must confront.

Let me say here, a Yanukovych presidency is committed to the integration of European values in Ukraine. Ukraine should make use of its geopolitical advantages and become a bridge between Russia and the West. Developing a good relationship with the West and bridging the gap to Russia will help Ukraine. We should not be forced to make the false choice between the benefits of the East and those of the West. As president I will endeavor to build a bridge between both, not a one-way street in either direction. We are a nation with a European identity, but we have historic cultural and economic ties to Russia as well. The re-establishment of relations with the Russian Federation is consistent with our European ambitions. We will rebuild relations with Moscow as a strategic economic partner. There is no reason that good relations with all of our neighbors cannot be achieved.

If we hope to become a bridge between two important spheres we cannot merely talk and make promises; we must deliver concrete policies and achieve real progress. If we hope to join the European Union we must secure political stability and establish ourselves as an economically viable nation. We must be pragmatic and focused to achieve EU membership. We must create transparent policies that allow our economy to thrive and demonstrate that Ukraine will add value to the EU as a new member state.

I am committed to conducting a policy that would strengthen our links with respected international financial institutions, and increase our standing in the world economic community. My election program, "Ukraine for the People," is a deep and comprehensive plan that clearly specifies how to achieve social and economic progress. It is not an easy task. We will be confronted with the same conflicts as Europe and Washington have faced—how to stimulate our economy to create jobs while not decreasing the social protections needed by our citizens. We must defeat corruption, which has become rampant over the last several years and has damaged our ability to attract foreign investment.

If we hope to join the EU and raise the standard of living of Ukrainians to that of other European nations, we must restore our economy from within. There are three fundamental objectives the Ukrainian economy must achieve in order to thrive: First, we must create jobs; second, we must stabilize prices so people can afford the necessities that they need to live; and third, we must ensure our citizens receive adequate wages and pensions. Giving our citizens a basic economic foundation is a critical first step to restoring the broken bond between the people and the government of Ukraine.

And so that is my agenda—to restore economic vitality and calm the political turbulence that has plagued our nation; to enable Ukraine to take advantage of its natural positioning as a thriving bridge between Russia and the West; and finally, to prepare a free and open Ukraine, economically and politically, to join the European Union when the time comes.

Ukraine is a beautiful country with hard-working and virtuous people who ask only for a chance at a better life. I know that if we can come together, we will achieve great things. As president, I plan to give Ukrainians the nation they deserve—a Ukraine for the people.

Mr. Yanukovych is president-elect of Ukraine.

Source:online.wsj.com/

Departing president warns Ukraine is turning East

2010-02-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

KIEV, Ukraine — Departing Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko says the policies of his newly elected successor risk turning Ukraine back into a Kremlin vassal state.

Yushchenko made some of his harshest statements at a news conference Tuesday against President-elect Viktor Yanukovych, nine days before he is due to leave office.

He says Yanukovych's plans are degrading to the nation and the European course it has pursued since Yushchenko took office in 2005.

He lambasted Yanukovych's plans to give Russia a stake in Ukraine's natural gas pipelines and to extend the lease Russia has on a Black Sea naval base.

Yanukovych says in response that he will pursue a balanced and pragmatic foreign policy.

Source:AFP

Parliament canceled decision on carrying out of election to local councils on May 30, 2010

2010-02-16T08:49:00.000-08:00

The parliament adopted a resolution “On recognition invalid of resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On appointing of regular election of deputies of the local councils, and village, settlement and city heads in 2010”.

According to an UNIAN correspondent, 250 out of 420 lawmakers registered in the session hall voted for this decision.

This resolution cancels decision of the parliament concerning carrying out of election on May 30, 2010.

Source:unian.net/

Tymoshenko said she is not about to resign from post of PM – Zvarych

2010-02-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

At the meeting with lawmakers from the Our Ukraine – People’s Self Defense faction Yulia Tymoshenko said that she is not about to resign from the post of the Prime Minister of Ukraine.
According to an UNIAN correspondent, lawmaker from the OU-PSD Roman Zvarych said this in the interview to journalists.

“We heard from the Prime Minister of Ukraine that she is not about to send in her resignation”, said R. Zvarych.

Source:unian.net/

Yushchenko says Stepan Bandera should not be deprived of Hero of Ukraine title

2010-02-16T08:26:00.000-08:00

Incumbent President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko has said he is sure that his decree conferring the title of Hero of Ukraine to Stepan Bandera will not be canceled.

"I'm sure that nobody will dare cancel the decree of President Yushchenko regarding this issue," has said at a press conference in Kyiv on Feb. 16.

He noted that the decree wasn't a political step and called on the Ukrainian nation to respect its own history.

According to Yushchenko, Victor Yanukovych was elected president of an independent country, and he would not have good prospects if there were no patriots.

As reported, on Jan. 22, the Ukrainian president conferred the Hero of Ukraine rank to Bandera, leader of a Ukrainian underground militant nationalist movement in the 1940s.

Source:unian.net/

Adherents of PR pitched tents near premises of Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine

2010-02-16T07:01:00.000-08:00

Adherents of the Party of Regions pitched nearly 30 tents near the premises of the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine.

According to an UNIAN correspondent, the tents of the Party of Regions are pitched at the corner of Grushevskogo Street and Moskovskaya Street.

Adherents of newly elected President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych are in tents.

Moreover, some tents are pitched near an entrance to the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine.

Source:unian.net/

Ukraine’s First Eurobond Sale Since 2007 May Fail

2010-02-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Ukraine’s first foreign debt sale in almost three years may fail as the political deadlock following the presidential election keeps emergency funds frozen and drains international investor confidence.

The Economy Ministry said in January it plans to sell as much as $1 billion in foreign-currency debt next quarter, its first international sale since June 2007. Ukraine needs to finance a budget deficit of about 13 percent of gross domestic product and cover $500 million in domestic debt coming due in April.

Half a decade after the Orange Revolution, the former Soviet republic doesn’t have enough funds to stay afloat without emergency relief. The International Monetary Fund has shelved its $16.4 billion loan since November after Ukraine’s Cabinet was unable to commit to budget cuts, and the Feb. 7 presidential election has yet to end the political unrest that’s crippled the economy.

The Eurobond sale “will only be possible with an IMF program in place,” Oliver Weeks, an economist at Morgan Stanley in London, said in an e-mailed reply to questions. “Without the IMF monitoring or some sign it’s imminent, I don’t think investors will have enough confidence the fiscal position is getting back on a sustainable path to lend at reasonable commercial rates. There is always some price you can borrow at, but I think in this case it would be too high.”

Political Powerplay

President-elect Viktor Yanukovych’s party has said it wants to topple Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko’s government and is preparing a no-confidence vote this week.

If Yanukovych’s allies succeed, they’ll have about a month before the planned debt sale to form a new Cabinet and agree on budget cuts that the current administration has been unable to pass since October. If it fails to regain IMF favor by April, Ukraine may be without external funds until autumn.

“If Yanukovych can’t get a parliamentary majority to oust Timoshenko, he’ll have to call elections, which might be held in September,” said Andriy Nesteruk, an analyst at Kiev-based Phoenix-Capital investment bank. “If that happens, the IMF won’t return to Ukraine until October.”

Morgan Stanley’s Weeks said that even without a parliamentary election, the IMF program probably won’t be resumed until summer.

“We don’t have money to cover our state budget gap,” Nesteruk said. “We have significant budget problems, the situation is close to catastrophic.”

‘Tight’ Outlook

Ukraine’s debt is the third most expensive in the world to insure after Argentina’s and Venezuela’s, according to credit default swap spreads. The five-year CDS contract rose 6 basis points last week to 977, signaling a heightened perceived credit risk. The yield on the existing Eurobond, which matures in 2016, has risen 12 basis points since the election, and was trading 2 basis points higher at 10.57 percent at 1:57 p.m. in Kiev.

“Investors don’t like uncertainty,” Frank Gill, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services in London, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “The outlook for financing in 2010 continues to be tight.”

S&P rates Ukraine’s foreign currency debt CCC+, seven levels below investment grade. Moody’s Investors Service ranks Ukraine’s debt B2, five notches below investment grade, while Fitch Ratings grades the country’s credit B-, the sixth-highest junk grade.

“It’s probably not the best time for them to be borrowing,” said Ian McCall, Director of Argo Capital Management Ltd in London, which manages about $500 million in emerging market debt. At the same time, McCall said, with lenders enjoying great leverage, “for us as investors, that can be one of the most interesting times to be lending to a sovereign.”

‘The Other Way’

Before the election, CDS swaps had eased from 1,232 basis points at the beginning of the year to 949 basis points on Jan. 18, one day after the first round of the election that ousted President Viktor Yushchenko.

“The market had rallied back on the expectation of an IMF deal,” said Timothy Ash, head of emerging market research at Royal Bank of Scotland Plc in London. “They will need to clarify the situation with the IMF pretty soon or we could see the market going the other way.” The government won’t be able “to fund the state budget deficit without IMF financing.”

The lack of funds is unlikely to trigger a sovereign default, economists said. Without external financing, the government can cover domestic debt obligations by asking the central bank to print money, though that would fuel inflation. Consumer prices rose an annual 11.1 percent last month, compared with a peak of 31.1 percent in May 2008, according to the State Statistics Committee in Kiev.

Ukraine can also finance its next payment for Russian gas, due on March 7 for February consumption, through a procedure approved by the IMF last year: It deposits Treasury notes at the central bank, the bank converts them into foreign currency from international reserves, and the currency is used to pay for the gas.

‘A Bit Dangerous’

The country can survive until September without IMF help, according to Dmitry Gourov, a Vienna-based economist at UniCredit CAIB AG, a unit of Italy’s biggest bank. “It’s September when the level of reserves would become a bit dangerous,” he said.

Gourov estimates the government would only be able to attract investors to an international bond sale without the IMF program back on track if it offered about 10 percentage points more in interest than investors would be willing to accept with the Fund monitoring the country’s finances.

That rate of interest hasn’t been announced, though Deputy Finance Minister Ihor Umanskyi said on Jan. 27 Ukraine expects to pay a “one-digit” interest rate on the borrowing.

The country’s gross international reserves stood at $25.3 billion at the end of January, according to central bank data.

Ukraine’s economy contracted an annual 7 percent last quarter, the statistics office said yesterday, bringing the average decline last year to about 15 percent.
With assistance from Denis Maternovsky in Moscow, Agnes Lovasz in London and Halia Pavliva in Kiev. Editors: Tasneem Brogger, Chris Kirkham.

Source:businessweek.com/

Ukraine’s Economy Declined 15%, Economy Ministry Says

2010-02-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Ukraine’s economic output plunged 15 percent last year, the most since at least 1996, because of the global financial crisis, the Economy Ministry said.

Gross domestic product shrank 7 percent on an annual basis in the fourth quarter after slumping 15.9 percent in the third, 17.8 percent in the second and 20.3 percent in the first three months, the state statistics committee in Kiev said yesterday.

The fourth-quarter “decline at a slower pace was because of a gradual recovery in industrial production,” Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn said today in an e-mailed statement. “The main problem for the economic recovery is lack of credits.”

The global recession slashed demand for Ukrainian exports and dried up investment, forcing the country to turn for an International Monetary Fund emergency loan in November 2008 to stay afloat. Cooperation with the Washington-based lender has been stalled for a fourth month as the Cabinet failed to adopt the 2010 state budget and cut spending.

GDP rose a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, while remaining flat in the third quarter from the second, according to the statement.

Source:businessweek.com/

Ukrainian oligarch's daughter has designer handbag containing £4m of jewellery stolen in Paris limousine

2010-02-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

A Ukrainian oligarch's daughter claims she had £4million of jewellery in her designer handbag when it was stolen in Paris.
Kristina Chernovetskaya, who is in her 20s, was travelling in a chauffeur-driven limousine she had hired at Charles de Gaule airport when it was targeted by a lone thief.
He is said to have forced open the back door of the car after smashing a rear window as it waiting in a traffic jam in the St Denis area of the French

Snatched: Kristina Chernovetskaya says her designer handbag containing £4million of jewellery was stolen as she being driven through the St Denis area of Paris (pictured)
Miss Chernovetskaya, a glamorous socialite whose father Leonid Chernovetsky is a former multi-millionaire banker and the mayor of Kiev, told police that the man fled with her handbag, but left behind thousands of pounds in cash.
'The bag was snatched by the robber who made off on foot,' said a detective investigating the theft, which happened at noon yesterday.
'The victim has told us that the bag contained jewels, rings and earrings worth more than $6million.
'Her chauffeur tried to give chase but didn't get anywhere near the robber, but a vast amount of hard cash belonging to the victim was left behind.'
Miss Chernovestkaya's family is one of the most controversial in the former Soviet Union. Her father, 58, regularly makes the headlines for his financial dealings.
He made millions out of the break up of the old communist regime, setting up the Pravex Bank, one of the largest in the Ukraine.

Glamorous: Miss Chernovestkya is the socialite daughter of former Kiev mayor Leonid, who formerly ran the Pravex Bank
The bank's management was regularly accused of using coercive methods to get loan money back from customers, before it was sold for more than £500million.
Mr Chernovestky went on to become mayor of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, in 2006 and has hinted that he intends to run for president at some stage.
In 2008, he was given the Order of Yaroslav the Wise, a top civilian award in the Ukraine. At the time, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko urged President Victor Yushchenko to 'stop granting decorations to corrupt people'.
If the handbag is not recovered, Miss Chernovetskaya will have to try and claim back her loss through insurers

Source:dailymail.co.uk/

Video of election cheating, Ukraine loser claims

2010-02-16T01:31:00.000-08:00

The party of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was to file an official complaint today with a top Ukrainian court contesting the results of presidential elections won by Viktor Yanukovych, her top aide said.

"We are preparing a complaint with the supreme administrative court which will be filed tomorrow," said Olexander Turchynov, deputy prime minister and Tymoshenko's right-hand man.

He said Tymoshenko's election headquarters had video proof and eyewitness evidence that showed mass falsifications in favour of Yanukovych at the Feb. 7 polls.

A spokesman for Ukraine's supreme administrative court said the body had received a complaint from Tymoshenko's faction demanding that the results of the election be declared illegal.

But a legal official from the Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko, Sergiy Vlasenko, said that this had been made on the personal initiative of an MP and the complaint contained errors.

Yanukovych won by a slim margin of some 3.5 per cent or just under 890,000 votes, according to full results published on Sunday which formally declared him as the winner.

Tymoshenko on Saturday refused to recognize Yanukovych as president.

She also said that some observers from a trans-Atlantic security group had said they were prepared to declare in the courts that there had been "systematic fraud" in the election.

Other international observers had cleared the election of any sort of voting irregularities.

Source:edmontonjournal.com/

Russia: Premier Congratulates Winner of Ukraine Vote

2010-02-16T01:17:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia congratulated Viktor F. Yanukovich on Monday for winning Ukraine’s presidential election, well after many other world leaders had done so. But Mr. Putin may have had his reasons for delaying. In 2004, he was accused of meddling in Ukraine’s affairs by making a similar call to Mr. Yanukovich while the presidential election results were still being contested. Mr. Yanukovich’s campaign was accused of fraud, the election was thrown out and the Orange Revolution happened. This time, Mr. Putin waited until Mr. Yanukovich’s victory was certified.

Source:nytimes.com/

Canada's Harper congratulates president-elect Yanukovych of Ukraine

2010-02-16T01:12:00.000-08:00

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Monday congratulated president-elect Viktor Yanukovych following his victory in Ukraine's Feb. 7 presidential vote.

"I extend Canada's congratulations to Viktor Yanukovych on his victory," Harper said. "Ukraine is a key partner for Canada in Europe, and has an important role in the development of democracy and security in the region."

In a release by his office in Ottawa, the prime minister said that he looks forward to working closely with president-elect Yanukovych to continue to advance the two countries' common values and shared interests.

Source:english.people.com.cn/

Ukraine's polls reflect desire for better ties with Russia: Medvedev

2010-02-15T19:34:00.000-08:00

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday the results of Ukraine's presidential election reflected the country's desire to improve ties with Russia.

"The polls, held under the generally recognized international standards, confirmed Ukrainians' desire to put an end to historically doomed attempts to stir up hostility between the peoples of our countries," Medvedev said in a congratulatory message to Ukrainian president-elect Viktor Yanukovych.

Medvedev expressed the hope that Russia-Ukraine relations would return to a partnership approach under the new president, according to the Kremlin press service.

"I expect that Russian-Ukrainian cooperation will again acquire a constructive and fruitful nature of true partnership," he said. "I am sure that, through joint efforts, we will be able to inject a new impetus to the development of mutually beneficial bilateral relations."

Medvedev also invited Yanukovych to visit Moscow to discuss a wide range of issues concerning bilateral cooperation.

Ties between the two former Soviet neighbors have been strained in recent years over pro-West incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko's bid for NATO membership, gas disputes, and Ukraine's support for Georgia in the 2008 Caucasus war.

Ukraine's Central Election Commission confirmed on Sunday that opposition leader Yanukovych defeated Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a bitterly fought runoff on Feb. 7.

Source:english.people.com.cn/

Tymoshenko says Ukraine poll rigged, vows court challenge

2010-02-13T20:41:00.000-08:00

KIEV, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Saturday that she had evidence of fraud in the Feb. 7 presidential runoff, and would challenge the result in court.

Preliminary results from the Ukraine Central Election Commission showed that Tymoshenko was defeated by opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych by just 3.5 percentage points.

Ukraine's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks during her televised address in Kiev February 13, 2010. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko declared on Saturday that she had proof of cheating in a February 7 presidential election by her rival Viktor Yanukovich which she would take to court to contest his victory. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Tymoshenko said more than 1 million votes had been falsified or miscounted, and irregularities were particularly rampant in certain Russian-speaking areas.

"I want to clearly state: Yanukovych is not our president. Whatever happens in the future, he will never become the legitimately elected president of Ukraine," she said in a televised broadcast to the nation.

"I have made the only decision I can make -- to challenge the results in court," Tymoshenko said. "Not going to the courts today would mean leaving Ukraine to criminals without a fight."

Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have declared the elections "professional, transparent and honest" in a joint statement with other international observers.

Some foreign leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen have already congratulated Yanukovych on his election win.

A Ukrainian electoral official told Xinhua earlier this week that Yanukovych's victory was "unassailable," though it was won by a small margin.

Volodymyr Fesenko, director of the Penta Center of Applied Political Studies, said Tymoshenko's attempt to challenge the election results in court was meaningless and would not lead to a revote like the one at the end of 2004 during the "Orange Revolution."

Analysts have ruled out the possibility of an outbreak of street protests, citing decreasing revolutionary fervor among the population, who have benefited little from the "Orange Revolution."

Instead, they predict a smooth transition of power from incumbent president Viktor Yushchenko to Yanukovych.

Source:news.xinhuanet.com/

Obama congratulates Yanukovych on Ukraine polls win

2010-02-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON DC — UNITED STATES President Barack Obama on Thursday called Viktor Yanukovych to congratulate him on winning Ukraine's presidential election, describing the poll as a new step forward for democracy.

Pro-Russian Yanukovych beat Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko by 3.5 percent in Sunday's vote, but she has not yet conceded and her party has alleged substantial fraud.

International observers and Western states however hailed the vote as fair and clean.

"President Obama called Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine today to congratulate him on his election and wish him success in carrying out his mandate," the White House said in a statement.

"This peaceful expression of the political will of Ukrainian voters is another positive step in strengthening democracy in Ukraine."

The statement said Obama and Yanukovych agreed on the need to continue cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation and wished their respective teams luck in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, beginning on Friday.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko was seen as more pro-western than Yanukovych, who is seen here as likely to lean closer to Moscow than the European Union and the United States.

The White House statement looked forward to what is likely to be a more uncertain time in US-Ukrainian relations.

"The strategic partnership between the United States and Ukraine is based on shared interests and values," it said.

"These include expanding democracy and prosperity, protecting security and territorial integrity, strengthening the rule of law, promoting non-proliferation, and supporting reform in Ukraine?s economic and energy sectors.

"The United States looks forward to working with President-elect Yanukovych and continuing to strengthen our cooperation with Ukraine?s government and its Parliamentary leaders."

Source:AFP