Ukraine flu epidemic slows

In the first two days of panic and hysteria, the main advisers and teachers of the people were politicians, including deputies, ministers, former ministers, but NOT DOCTORS. As soon as a doctor appeared on the TV screen, it turned out that politicians are better at talking. The apotheosis of panic was one presidential candidate’s declaration that Ukrainians are dying from lung plague. Another presidential candidate was loudly complaining that there is no oxoline ointment (a preventative drug produced in Ukraine), that the criminal pharmaceutical companies failed to import it. Unfortunately there is nobody to explain to the candidate that the effectiveness of this ointment is not proven, and it is imported by neither the United States, nor France, nor any other country. There are no doctors among presidential candidates, and it must be too expensive to keep a medical adviser on staff. Our lovely country of the rivers of milk and honey is still remains to be a country of bad roads and silly great talkers.

Now to some official numbers broadcasted recently by AFP news agency http://www.afp.com/

KIEV (AFP) - An epidemic of flu and acute respiratory disorders has slowed down in Ukraine, officials said Monday, as the World Health Organization warned of a possible second wave of infections. "In the last few days, the number of patients falling ill per day has fallen," Ukraine's deputy health minister, Vasyl Lazoryshynets, said at a news conference. The number of new cases peaked on November 4 when more than 127,000 cases were registered. By Sunday, only 32,000 new cases were registered, Lazoryshynets said. Almost one million Ukrainians have been affected by the epidemic since it started in mid-October. Around 49,000 have been hospitalised and 155 have died, Lazoryshynets said. Among these, 65 cases of swine flu have been officially registered and 14 people have died of the A(H1N1) virus, a health ministry official tracking the epidemic, Mikhailo Golubchikov, told journalists. A World Health Organization delegation has spent a week in Ukraine and on Monday met President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. A spokesman for the delegation confirmed the drop in new cases, but raised the possibility of a new wave of cases in the next few months. "At the moment, we can see it has slowed down, but we cannot say whether it has been overcome," Christian Lindmeier told AFP. "In general worldwide, we're thinking about three waves: one now, one in midwinter, in January and February, and one later," Lindmeier said. "In Ukraine, it's not clear how the virus will continue," he added.

On the first photo you can see activists of Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc handing out protective masks during pre-election campaign in central Kiev on November 9, 2009. Tymoshenko refuted that the epidemic may influence the date of the presidential elections. Another photo shows Ukrainian Prime Minister wearing a face mask as she visits a regional hospital in Lutsk, about 400 km (247 miles) west of Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009.

Creator of "Kalashnikov" turns 90

MOSCOW - The designer of the Kalashnikov, sometimes called the world's most lethal weapon, was named a "Hero of Russia" on Tuesday by President Dmitry Medvedev who lauded him for creating "the brand every Russian is proud of". "In our country, such phenomena do not happen every day," Medvedev told Mikhail Kalashnikov after decorating him with a gold medal at a lavish Kremlin reception dedicated to the assault rifle's creator's 90th birthday. "I mean not only the Kalashnikov rifle but also the national brand created by you, which makes every Russian proud, makes him feel he is part of history and inspires him to work for the future.""Hero of Russia" is the nation's highest honorary title. Dressed in a general's parade uniform decorated with two Soviet-era "Hero of Socialist Labour" gold stars, a frail-looking Kalashnikov clinked champagne glasses with Medvedev. Created in 1947, the Kalashnikov, also known as the AK-47, is known for its reliability and simple design. It is officially in service in 55 countries and adorns several national emblems. But many of the world's estimated 100 million Kalashnikovs are also used as the weapon of choice by paramilitaries and rebels as well as gangsters and drug traffickers. Millions of counterfeit versions are thought to exist around the world and the rifle is so widespread that it is often said to have killed more people than any other weapon. "This is not my fault that this weapon is not used where it should," Kalashnikov, his voice trembling, said at the Kremlin ceremony. "This is the fault of politicians, not designers. I made it to defend the borders of the fatherland."As a sergeant in World War Two, Kalashnikov was badly injured and pulled from a burning tank. He never finished school or went to university. Kalashnikov said in his memoirs that while inventing the rifle he was driven by complaints from other wounded soldiers that the Nazi Germans' firearms were often better.Russians, many of whom still mourn the Soviet Union's sudden demise, often swell with pride at what they see as the Kalashnikov's superiority over its Cold War rival, the M-16, although more modern versions of the U.S.-made rifle have appeared since then."I am waiting to see who will make a better weapon, and I will be the first to shake his hand," an upbeat Kalashnikov said in a documentary on Russian television on Tuesday, which also marked 60 years of the rifle's service in the Russian army.In the West his invention would have made him a millionaire. In Russia, he lives in a modest Soviet-era apartment in the town of Izhevsk, east of Moscow. After meeting M-16 designer Eugene Stoner in the 1990s, Kalashnikov said his rich American colleague was flying his own plane, while the Russian could hardly afford a flight to Moscow. Medvedev recalled that Kalashnikov had once said that if such a weapon had been created abroad, "the state would have paid much better for this work". The president said: "But you must not regret that you served our country, and the love of the whole nation is the assessment of your work."

News agency REUTERS
http://ru.reuters.com/

If you want to learn more about this unique man and his creature click on follow two links.
Russian film about Mikhail Kalashnikov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvi6jPFnOZ4
Film taken by Discovery Channel “TOP 10: Combat Rifles #1 AK47” (English language)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kOWI_QoR7I

Capriccio written by Johann Sebastian Bach for the participant of the Battle of Poltava.

In 1703 famous German composer and organist Johann Sebastian Bach was invited to inspect and give the inaugural recital on the new organ at St. Boniface's Church in Arnstadt (see photo). The year after Sebastian's arrival in Arnstadt, his brother, Jacob, left Saxony to become oboist in the guard of Sweden's king, Charles XII. Within five years Jacob had accompanied king Charles into battle against Russia's Peter the Great, seen defeat at Poltava, escaped to Turkey, and returned again to Sweden. On the occasion of Jacob's departure Sebastian composed a capriccio. The several movements of Capriccio on the Departure of His Most Beloved Brother contain subtitles such as: "A coaxing by his friends to dissuade him from his journey," "A picturing of the various calamities that might overtake him in foreign parts," and "Now come the friends--since they see that it cannot be otherwise--and take leave of him." The Capriccio concludes with one of Bach's earliest known fugues.

Berlin Wall fragment to be erected near German embassy in Kyiv

A fragment of the Berlin Wall is to be put up near Germany’s embassy in Kyiv. "The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is marked this year. This event prompted big changes in Europe, including those of great consequence for Ukraine. In this connection, there’s an idea to put up a fragment of the Berlin Wall in Kyiv," German Ambassador to Ukraine Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth said as quoted by Interfax-Ukraine at a meeting with Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky Wednesday. Heimsoeth said Germany had proposed putting up an original portion of the Berlin Wall near the embassy’s building at 25 B. Khmelnytskoho St. in Kyiv. "The issue concerns an original fragment as a symbol of Germany’s freedom and unity," he said. Heimsoeth also said that similar fragments had already been put up in New York and London, and added that the embassy was planning to pay for the transport of the fragment to Kyiv using its own funds.
ProUA.com

That is all about Russian gas and coming cold winter

Sweden downplays EU gas payment loans to Ukraine
WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The European Union is not responsible for loaning money to Ukraine to help the country pay for Russian natural gas supplies this winter, Sweden's Enterprise and Energy Minister said on Wednesday. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has repeatedly called on the European Union to help with Ukraine's gas problems by providing financial assistance. "That's not our role," Sweden's Maud Olofsson told Reuters TV in Washington. "The role for the European Union is to secure the energy supply for Europe," she said. Olofsson, whose country currently holds the rotating 6-month EU presidency, said Putin's warnings that Russian gas supplies to Ukraine may be disrupted if Kiev does not make its energy payments should be taken seriously. "But on the other hand, this is a matter of discussion between Ukraine and Russia," she said. Olofsson said the European Union is focused on developing its own energy sources "so we are more secure by ourselves." The European Union depends on Russia for its winter natural gas supplies, a big chunk of which is transported by pipeline through Ukraine. Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Western Europe via Ukraine in January 2006 and again in January 2008 because of a dispute with Ukraine over gas prices and payments. (Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Christian Wiessner)

Sweden, Finland okay Russia's Nord Stream pipeline
STOCKHOLM (AFP) – After years of procrastination, Sweden and Finland agreed on Thursday to allow the Russian-led Nord Stream pipeline to pass through their waters in the Baltic Sea, a crucial step for the project destined to supply Europe with Russian gas. The breakthrough approvals come as new tensions have been playing out between Moscow and Ukraine, raising fears for a new row between the countries that could jeopardise Russian gas supplies to Europe.
By going under the Baltic Sea, Nord Stream's pipeline could free the European Union of the risks posed by disputes between Moscow and the Ukraine, through which 80 percent of Russian gas currently transits on its way to Europe. One quarter of all gas consumed in Europe comes from Russia. "The government authorises Nord Stream to build a pipeline in international waters inside the Swedish economic zone," Swedish environment minister Andreas Carlgren told reporters in Stockholm.

Ukraine Stops Russian Missile Truck

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine, Nov. 3 Ukrainian traffic police Tuesday stopped a Russian truck carrying anti-ship missiles belonging to the Black Sea Fleet, military officials say. A spokesman for the fleet told the RIA Novosti news agency that it was unknown to them why the Ukrainian officers stopped a vehicle convoy traveling through the Crimea region, because they had the proper authority from Kiev to move the missiles as part of Russia's lease of the naval base at Sevastopol. "For reasons unknown to us, Ukraine failed to notify the police, in particular traffic police and security service officers", the Black Sea Fleet spokesman said, adding the traffic stop was the fifth such incident this year. The spokesman said the truck was taking the missiles to be decommissioned and asserted the convoy was in full compliance with Ukrainian safety requirements.
RIA Novosti noted that Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has been calling for Russia to make preparations to withdraw the fleet from Sevastopol when the agreement on the base expires in 2017.

Only survived sword (saber) of Hetman Ivan Mezepa is preserving in the Russian State Hermitage (St.Petersburg)

Since the end of February 2009, the Ukrainian printed source «Blik» and Ukrainian USA Diaspora sources published the information about an Ukrainian relic, the only survived sword (saber) of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, «being kept in negligence in the cellars of the State Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg». The story beginning was several years ago, when some Ukrainian collector of antiques stated that the sabre of Mazepa, must be kept in Canada. It is known that it was presented by Count Perovsky to Emperor Nicholas I in 1849 and kept in the Imperial Armoury in Tsarskoye Selo (Tsar Village). American «Cossacks» started to study the archives, but only discovered that later it was preserved in one of the Polish museums up till 1945, and then vanished. The new research took one year more. It was discovered that the sword was taken from Poland by the Soviet secret services after the end of WW II. The Hermitage associates confirmed the fact that the Hetman’s sword is kept in their museum. It is in excellent condition and was thoroughly restored. The last time, when the relic was exhibited was at an exposition in Poland in 1990s. According to the reporters there is no hurry in returning the relic to Poland. Both the Hermitage and the Ukrainians decided that though the item will not be passed to the Ukraine, nevertheless, it will be exhibited in a temporal exposition in one of the country’s museums.