Sunday, February 28, 2010

Foreign Minister of Sweden: reforms are more important for Ukraine than membership in EU

Kyiv Feb 23 2010 (UNIAN news agency) Foreign Minister of Sweden Carl Bild believes that Ukraine’s EU membership prospects are less important than reforms in Ukraine. He expressed this opinion in a talk with an own UNIAN correspondent in Brussels today. “Today reforms are more important”, he said answering a question about possibility of giving a EU membership prospect to Ukraine. Speaking about possibility of providing assistance to Ukraine, Carl Bild noted that first of all Ukraine should resume cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, which should promote to overcome crisis consequences in economics. Moreover, according to the words of the Minister, Ukraine and EU should accelerate negotiations concerning agreement on association, which provides forming of overall and deep free trade zone.

Ukrainian Canadian busker plays the Bandura at Toronto subway station

Out in the west end at Royal York station, you’ll often find TTC busker Yarko Antonevych calmly plucking away at a strange lute-like instrument. The scene so charming and anachronistic that it’s no wonder commuters are instantly drawn to him. “What is that you’re playing?” they’ll ask, and it has become such a common question that Yarko has the bandura's history hard-wired into his brain for anyone who cares to know. Humble Yarko says he is but a bandurist and not a kobzar, or a traveling Ukrainian minstrel who would historically entertain and teach those around him. But if you ask me, with his natural storytelling capability and eagerness to share what he knows, there is no description that better fits him than that of a modern-day kobzar.

Read the whole article about bandura player and listed to the famous Ukrainian Cossack's instrument at

http://www.ukrcdn.com/2010/02/27/ukrainian-canadian-busker-plays-the-bandura-at-toronto-subway-station/

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Yanukovych is about to visit Moscow on March 5

President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych is about to visit Russia on March 5. “We came to an agreement about this with President of the Russian Federation Dmitriy Medvedev”, said V. Yanukovych at the meeting with Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Boris Gryzlov and head of Administration of the President of Russia Sergey Naryshkin, the press service of the President of Ukraine reports. According to the words of V. Yanukovych, “the main aim of this visit is to stir up considerably the relations with Russia, particularly in economic sphere”.
http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-364690.html

Friday, February 26, 2010

Two cybercriminals have been detained in Poltava

Nearly every bank in Ukraine runs its operations on an internal network connected with the Internet. Although the local banks claim that its security is virtually foolproof, our gifted hackers have already proved that any bank security system can be cracked. Ukrainian police detained two hackers in Poltava that invented an original way of siphoning money from a bank by sending a special worm-type virus into its internal network. These viruses delivered accounts’ information to hackers. Then hackers made a plastic cards to draw money from automatic cash terminal. Local police hold that hackers succeeded in siphoning of more than 100,000 USD within two months. Unfortunately Ukrainian State Legislation still makes no provision for such cybercrime. That is why these two crime suspects most probably will be convicted only for fraud.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Viktor Yanukovych sworn in as Ukraine president


Viktor Yanukovych, the opposition leader who won Ukraine's recent election, has been inaugurated as the country's new president. His electoral opponent, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, says Mr Yanukovych won through fraud and refuses to recognise his victory.
Both Mrs Tymoshenko and the outgoing president, Viktor Yushchenko, refused to attend the ceremony.
However international observers have said the election was conducted fairly. Mr Yanukovych swore the oath of office in parliament, in front of deputies and visiting foreign heads of state and representatives. There was a block of empty seats in the chamber where deputies belonging to Mrs Tymoshenko's and Mr Yushchenko's coalition of supporters would have sat. After taking the oath, Mr Yanukovych acknowledged the divisions in parliament and Ukraine's economic difficulties but said he could lead the country out of the crisis.



One page from his biography to say truly scares a bit. Here is a extract from President's biography published by Wikipedia:

...On December 15, 1967, at 17 Yanukovych was sentenced to three years incarceration for participating in a robbery and moderate assault. The sentence was later reduced to 18 months due to the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. The fact is that the court did not even excuse him as he was underage, although such practice was taking place especially for the first time convicted. At the process Yanukovych plead guilty and did not appeal his sentence even though he had the chance for the expense of the state. He served his sentence in the Kremenchuk (100km. away from Poltava) detention center, but was released after seven months for exemplary behavior. Yanukovych was also convicted on June 8, 1970 for causing a mild degree body injuries and was sentenced to two years imprisonment which he as the previous sentence did not appeal. While in prison he received the nickname "Kham" (the boor) from other inmates. Also there are some rumors that the second cases was first trialed as a rape under the Article 118 of Criminal Code of Ukrainian SSR and later changed to the mild degree body injury. It is unknown where Yanukovych served his second sentence, but some residents of Yenakieve claim that it was in the local correctional-labor institution ITL #52. On July 18, 1973 after serving a year of his sentence, the people's court of the city Yenakieve stripped off the both convictions of Yanukovych....


You can learn more about biography of the newly elected President of Ukraine at


Wednesday, February 24, 2010

THE RUSSIAN QUESTION


In Moscow Mr Yanukovich’s victory is seen as a victory over the West, and a belated vindication of Vladimir Putin’s decision to back him five years ago. Mr Yanukovich is more at home in Moscow than in Brussels. He will almost certainly offer Russia’s Gazprom (along with a European firm) a deal to form a long-term consortium to operate Ukraine’s gas pipeline system in the hope that this will reduce gas prices and dissuade Moscow from building an alternative pipeline to bypass Ukraine. That said, Mr Yanukovich will zealously guard the interests of Ukraine’s own tycoons, who see their future in the European Union, not in Russia. As one senior Ukranian diplomat put it, “A good relationship with Russia is also what Europe wants from us.” Ukraine’s politics may be operatic, but do not expect a great redemption or a terrible retribution. The next scene is likely to be a muddle, with the protagonists making the best of a bad job.
http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15501625

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

SWEDEN'S SWEDBANK APPOINTS EXPERT TO HANDLE MOUNTAIN OF BAD DEBTS


Reuters, Stockholm, Sweden, Feb 22, STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Swedbank said on Monday it had appointed an expert in bank reconstruction and problem loans to help it handle soured credits in the Baltics, Sweden and other countries. Swedbank plunged to a 9.5 billion Swedish crown ($1.32 billion) operating loss in 2009 as it was forced to take massive provisions against bad loans in the Baltic region - where it is a top player - and Ukraine.
Swedbank said it had appointed Arne Berggren, a former government official who played a key role in Sweden's response to its banking crisis in the 1990s, as head of Financial Reconstruction and Recovery. Berggren has also been a senior advisor to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Swedbank has set up teams in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia to handle a mountain of bad debts triggered by the global financial crisis. The bank has also created a unit to manage and sell repossessed assets.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE61L0OK20100222