http://eng.mediaport.ua News of Kharkov Ukraine and the Region: on-the-fly, high-grade and objective en-us Copyright 2008 mediaport.ua Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:00:02 +0200 admin@mediaport.info http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/ecity/2009/4895.shtml ecity region The version of website isn`t temporary worked The agency of MediaPort has stopped the updating news in english language for technical reason and is very sory for that to its readers Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:36:55 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eukraine/2009/4894.shtml eukraine region The International Monetary Fund is concerned by the parliament’s adoption of a law raising the minimum wage. The press service of the parliament announced this in a statement. Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn met with Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, the head of the International Monetary Fund’s mission to Ukraine, according to Ukrainian News. Pazarbasioglu said during the meeting that the International Monetary Fund was concerned by the adoption of this law because it would seriously complicate implementation of the state budget and result in the budget deficit significantly exceeding 8%, which will violate Ukraine’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Lytvyn called for implementation of a balanced economic policy and expressed the hope that the Cabinet of Ministers and the International Monetary Fund would continue cooperation. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the parliament set the following minimum monthly wages on October 20: UAH 869 from January 1, 2010; UAH; UAH 884 from April 1, 2010; UAH 888 from July 1, 2010; UAH 907 from October 1, 2010; and UAH 922 from December 1, 2010. The current monthly minimum wage is UAH 669. The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc’s parliamentary faction has asked President Viktor Yuschenko to veto the law. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:10:28 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eukraine/2009/4893.shtml eukraine region Presidential election campaign has started in Ukraine today. Political parties and their electoral blocs willing to participate in the elections are to nominate a candidate for presidency while independent candidates are to declare the intention to stand for elections from October 20 to November 6 inclusively. Up to November 9, inclusively, candidates for presidency or accredited representatives of the parties and blocs are to file the documents to the TsVK (Central Election Committee) to register their candidate. Within the five days from the submission TsVK is due to take the decision on the registration of a candidate for presidency or deny it. Till November 11, inclusively, refiling is allowed providing the application is corrected (its registration is provided up to November 13). To November 18 TsVK is supposed to air the list of the registered candidates for presidency in Holos Ukrayiny and Uryadovyi Kuryer governmental papers. The pre-election agitation is allowed the day after the TsVK register the candidate and up to January 15, 2010. Within the three days after the TsVK registration of a candidate the Committee is to air tax and property declaration in Holos Ukrayiny and Uryadovyi Kuryer papers, as well as on the official website. District electoral commissions are to be created till November 27. Foreign polling site commissions are to appear till December 9. Voting stations, including those abroad, are to be created till December 21. Up to January 1, 2010 the polling site commissions are supposed to send personal invitation to every voter. Starting from January 2 mass media are banned to spread information on the exit polls results about the candidates for presidency. Till January 9 foreign governments and international organizations should file, directly or through the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, their offers as to the official watchdogs to the Central Election Committee. Till that time TsVK is due to provide voting papers production. The polling day during the election is set on January 17, when voters can give their votes for this or that candidate from 8:00 to 20:00. Until January 22, inclusively, the district electoral committees are to draw conclusions within the districts while TsVk is due to do that within the polling site abroad. Till January 27, inclusively, TsVK is to confirm the results of the voting, officially air them and within the three days publish them in Holos Ukrayiny and Uryadovyi Kuryer papers. The newly elected President is to enter upon the office no later than 30 days after the official announcement of the polling results. TsVK has affirmed the calendar schedule of all the organizational events to prepare and hold elections for presidency on September 30. October 7 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has started of hear petitions from the President Victor Yushchenko and 48 members of parliament of the Verkhona Rada on the constitutionality of a separate provisions “On Presidential Election”. Member of the Central Electoral Committee Mykhaylo Okhendovskyi names February 17, 2010 as the date of the Presidential election results airing at holding of the runoff election on February 7 if needed. According to the TsVK (Central Electoral Committee) website. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:19:01 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4892.shtml eworld world A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has struck the Indonesian island of Java, causing buildings to sway in the capital, Jakarta, officials have said. BBC says that the epicentre was located 180km (115 miles) west of the city, in the Sunda Strait, at a depth of 50.6 km (31.4 miles), the US Geological Survey said. There have so far been no reports of any damage or casualties. A more powerful 7.6-magnitude quake devastated western Sumatra last month and left more than 1,100 people dead. An official at the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, Suharjono, told the AFP news agency that Friday's tremor was the result of movement in the same tectonic plate, but that it was impossible to say whether the two events were related. "However, the epicentres are in the same bloc... due to a clash between the Indo-Australian and Euro-Asian plates," he said. Suharjono said the quake was not strong enough to cause a tsunami. In Cilegon, on the western coast of Java, residents said the earth had shaken powerfully and some people had run from their homes, but that there was no evidence of major damage. "There was strong shaking for less than a minute. There was a lot of panic," Warca Dinata, a teacher, told AFP. "We all ran out of our homes but now everything is OK." Indonesia sits on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", one of the most active areas for earthquakes and volcanic activity in the world. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:16:08 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4891.shtml eworld world Google has reported its highest quarterly profit, suggesting that the internet advertising market is bouncing back from the recession. Google reported net profit of $1.64bn (£1bn) for the third quarter, a 27% increase on the same period a year ago, as BBC reports. Revenue for the three-month period came in at $4.38bn, which was well ahead of analysts' expectations of $1.29bn. "The worst of the recession is clearly behind us," said Google chief executive Eric Schmidt. "Because of what we have seen, we now have the confidence to be optimistic about our future." Google's shares rose $16.44, or 3.1%, to $546.35 in extended trading. The internet search engine has weathered the recession better than other advertising-dependent companies, and it was widely expected to be one of the first beneficiaries of an economic recovery. "Google has no competition. Yahoo is withering on the vine and [Microsoft's] Bing is too tiny now," said Coin Gillis, senior analyst at Brigantine Advisors. "They did great on every single metric. We think this is sustainable." Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:39:08 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4890.shtml eworld world The Arctic Ocean could be largely ice-free and open to shipping during the summer in as little as ten years' time, a top polar specialist has said. "It's like man is taking the lid off the northern part of the planet," said Professor Peter Wadhams, from the University of Cambridge, BBC reports. Professor Wadhams has been studying the Arctic ice since the 1960s. He was speaking in central London at the launch of the findings of the Catlin Arctic Survey. The expedition trekked across 435km of ice earlier this year. Led by explorer Pen Hadow, the team's measurements found that the ice-floes were on average 1.8m thick - typical of so-called "first year" ice formed during the past winter and most vulnerable to melting. The survey route - to the north of Canada - had been expected to cross areas of older "multi-year" ice which is thicker and more resilient. When the ridges of ice between floes are included, the expedition found an average thickness of 4.8m. Professor Wadhams said: "The Catlin Arctic Survey data supports the new consensus view - based on seasonal variation of ice extent and thickness, changes in temperatures, winds and especially ice composition - that the Arctic will be ice-free in summer within about 20 years, and that much of the decrease will be happening within 10 years. "That means you'll be able to treat the Arctic as if it were essentially an open sea in the summer and have transport across the Arctic Ocean." According to Professor Wadhams, faster shipping and easier access to oil and gas reserves were among short-term benefits of the melting. But in the longer-term, losing a permanent feature of the planet risked accelerated warming, changing patterns of circulation in the oceans and atmosphere, and having unknown effects on ecosystems through the acidification of waters. Pen Hadow and his companions Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley endured ferocious weather - including a wind chill of minus 70 - delayed resupply flights and starvation rations during the expedition from 1 March to 7 May. When I met them on the ice, as part of a BBC team that joined the pick-up flight, all three had lost weight and were evidently tired from the ordeal. The expedition had been blighted by equipment failures. A pioneering radar system, designed to measure the ice while being dragged over the ice, broke down within days. Another device to measure the water beneath the ice never functioned at all. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:28:41 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eeconomics/2009/4889.shtml eeconomics region Fitch Ratings, an international credit rating agency, has affirmed Ukraine's long-term, foreign- and local-currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at B. Fitch Ratings announced this in a statement, according to Ukrainian News. The outlooks on the ratings are Negative. Fitch also affirmed Ukraine's short-term foreign-currency IDR and Country Ceiling rating at B. According to the rating agency, Ukraine risks failing to obtain the next tranche of the International Monetary Fund's Standby loan because of failure to meet all the condition of the loan program. Fitch said that interruption to the loan program risks undermining the fragile confidence in the Ukrainian currency and the banking system. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the head of the International Monetary Fund’s mission to Ukraine Ceyla Pazarbasioglu arrived in Ukraine on October 14 for official meetings. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:22:14 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eukraine/2009/4888.shtml eukraine region The law «On the amending Ukrainian Law «On the state budget for 2009» and some other Ukrainian laws,» which oblige the National Bank of Ukraine to channel UAH 9.8 billion for the preparations for Euro 2012, has taken effect. This law has already been published by the Holos Ukrainy Verkhovna Rada newspaper, as Ukrainian News reports. It has been signed by Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Yuschenko on September 3 again applied his veto right to the law obliging the National Bank of Ukraine to transfer UAH 9.8 billion into the national budget for financing preparations for the finals of the 2012 European football championship. Yuschenko considers that fulfillment of the obligation by the NBU will affect the economy of the country with greater inflation, hryvnia exchange rate fall and social tension. On August 21, the Verkhovna Rada overrode Yuschenko's veto to the law obliging the NBU to transfer UAH 9.8 billion for the preparations for Euro 2012. Initially, the president vetoed this law on August 3 and asserted his intention to resort to the Constitutional Court if parliament overrides the veto. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:13:45 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eukraine/2009/4887.shtml eukraine region November is the starting point for Ukraine to get prepared to preside in the Council of Europe set for 2011. As the resident commissioner of Ukraine under the Council of Europe Yevhen Perelyhin said, Ukraine will hold the presidency of the Council of Europe for the first time. “We have a lot of ideas, we have practices, however, we haven’t come up to the stage of the preparation itself yet, that’s why it is difficult to say which exactly ideas and tasks will be confirmed”, - says the diplomat. To his words, Ukraine will have over 6 months to implement its ideas. The diplomat considers the time period quite pressing. “More than a year before our presidency we offered to hold a forum. If we hear some interesting ideas, this forum will be held in Ukraine as well. Thus, we’ll have around a year to get prepared and implement the ideas”, - as Perelyhyn said. Forum for the Future of Democracy in Europe will be held the next week. Ukraine will chair the Council of Europe from May till November of 2011. According to Interfax-Ukraine materials. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:09:43 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/ecity/2009/4886.shtml ecity region The Kharkov district court banned the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists from holding a rally in the city in honor of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the newspaper Gazeta reported on Wednesday The City Council, in its litigation against the nationalists, noted that "this public event may result in disturbances or crimes, violations of rights and freedoms of other people and the public order." At this time, other organizations which adhere to opposite views will be carrying out actions of their own in Molodyozhny (Youths') Park, the City Council said, according to ITAR-TASS. In this connection, the possibility of the provocation of a conflict with representatives of organizations holding other views cannot be ruled out, as cannot the participation in open physical confrontation. Therefore, a panel of judges believes that there is a real possibility of conflict situations, violation of the public order and rights and freedoms of other people. In 2006, representatives of the Communist Party of Ukraine, the Party of Regions and other public and veterans' organizations tried to foil a rally, a march and a requiem in honor of the UPA in the city, which resulted in a mass confrontation, which police had to contain. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:44:04 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4885.shtml eworld world Two U.S. spacecraft were crashed into a lunar crater on Friday but scientists said it was too early to say whether the mission to search for supplies of water on the Moon had been a success. NASA, which is hoping to find sufficient quantities of water to use as fuel for space exploration, said it could take two months to make a conclusive assessment of what was found, according to BBC. A two-ton empty rocket stage slammed into the eternally dark Cabeus crater near the moon's south pole at 4:31 a.m. PDT (7:31 a.m. EDT), intended to throw up a plume of spray from any ice that was there. Instruments on a second craft, that flew through the plume and hit close to the same spot four minutes later, as well as a lunar orbiter and telescopes on Earth captured data that could show whether there was ice there. Video transmitted back from the trailing craft did not show, as hoped, the eruption of debris, but infrared devices showed a hot flash that indicated a crater about 18 to 20 yards (meters) wide. "We didn't see a big splashy plume like we wanted to see," said Michael Bicay, director of science at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Ames Research Center. Scientists did not know whether there had been no plume or if it could not be seen in the Internet-quality video shown as the craft crashed. The $79 million program, a bargain by space exploration standards, could help change views of the moon. Recent signs of water have upended ideas of the lunar surface as barren and unchanging, and evidence of ice would also suggest new possibilities for space travel. "Water is essentially energy," scientist Victoria Friedensen said on NASA TV. "It can be used to make fuel." Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:11:17 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/ecrime/2009/4884.shtml ecrime region SBU together with city prosecution office exposed and terminated the activity of the interregional criminal group in the sphere of drugs business. They were of the working officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs major department in Kharkiv region who organized the group. As the SBU Press Service reports, in particular, the leader of the criminal group held position of the deputy head of the counternarcotic actions department in Kharkiv region who directly received the drugs. He was detained together with the head of the criminal police juvenile department who actually organized distribution among the youth in Kharkiv region. Law-enforcement bodies found out that throughout the 2009 the people mentioned above involved folks of the neighbouring regions to organize the steady channels of poppy straw large lots to Kharkiv. SBU has documented 10 cases of the narcotics supplies. October 8 within the criminal case initiated according to SBU materials (illicit production, manufacture, purchase, possession, traffic, passing or sale of narcotic substances or their counterparts) the criminals were caught red-handed while carrying out another supply of the drug goods. Law-enforcement bodies seized more than 20 kilograms of the poppy straw, 12 Tramadol tablets, a couple hundreds pills of ecstasy and other narcotic and psychoactive substances. Other members of the criminal group were detained the same day – they were suppliers from the neighbouring regions and those involved into the direct manufacture of opium of poppy straw with the further purpose of using it. During the search narcotic substances as well as weapons were seized from these people. The investigation is still carried out. Six people of the criminal group are under arrest, measure of restraint – a written pledge not to live the city – was imposed on the other two plotters. Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:45:02 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4883.shtml eworld world Children can be taught to use their imagination to tackle frequent bouts of stomach pain, research shows. A relaxation-type CD, asking children to imagine themselves in scenarios like floating on a cloud led to dramatic improvements in abdominal pain, BBC reports. The US researchers said the technique worked particularly well in children as they have such fertile imaginations. It has been estimated that frequent stomach pain with no identifiable cause affects up to one in five children. The research, published in the journal Pediatrics, follows on from studies showing hypnosis is an effective treatment for a range of conditions known as functional abdominal pain, which includes things like irritable bowel syndrome. In this study, the children had 20 minute sessions of "guided imagery" - a technique which prompts the subject to imagine things which will reduce their discomfort. One example is letting a special shiny object melt into their hand and then placing their hand on their belly, spreading warmth and light from the hand inside the tummy to make a protective barrier inside that prevents anything from irritating the belly The researchers, from the University of North Carolina and Duke University Medical Center, said a lack of therapists led them to the idea of using a CD to deliver the sessions. In all 30 children aged between six and 15 years took part in the study - half of whom used the CDs daily for eight weeks and the rest of whom got normal treatment. Among those who had used the CDs, 73.3% reported that their abdominal pain was reduced by half or more by the end of the treatment course compared with 26.7% in the standard care group. In two-thirds of children the improvements were still apparent six months later. Anxiety It is not clear exactly how the technique works but studies have shown it is partly about reducing anxiety but there is also a direct effect on the pain response. Some researchers think hypnosis-like techniques reduce "hypersensitivity" in conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. Study leader Dr Miranda van Tilburg said it was especially exciting that the children were able to use the technique on their own. "Such self-administered treatment is, of course, very inexpensive and can be used in addition to other treatments, which potentially opens the door for easily enhancing treatment outcomes for a lot of children suffering from frequent stomach aches. "Children are very good at using their imagination - when you use this in adults you have to overcome a barrier first." Professor David Candy, a consultant paediatric gastroenterologist at Western Sussex Hospitals, said his team had tried hypnosis in a small group of children with severe abdominal pain problems and had 100% success rate. He added they are now keen to try the guided imagery technique to see if they can replicate the US findings. "There is really a dearth of information on how to manage children with abdominal pain and it's a very common problem which keeps children out of school." Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:34:21 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4882.shtml eworld world Michael Jackson's new single "This Is It" began streaming online and playing across the radio airwaves Monday, nearly four months after the "king of pop" died of a prescription drug overdose aged 50. The track, which features backing vocals by Jackson's brothers, opens with a soft, soulful introduction and the lines: "This is it, here I stand/I'm the light of the world, I feel grand." It will be available to buy as part of the two-disc album "This Is It" which hits the shelves internationally on October 26 and in North America on October 27 to coincide with the global release of the Jackson movie of the same name on October 28, as Reuters reports. A short collection of clips from the film were also featured on websites showing Jackson and backing dancers rehearsing their routines for a run of 50 comeback shows at London's O2 Arena which the singer had been preparing for when he died. "This song only defines, once again, what the world already knows -- that Michael is one of God's greatest gifts," said John McClain, co-producer of the album and an executor of Jackson's estate. The "This Is It" movie was the subject of a $60 million deal between Jackson's estate and concert promoter AEG Live and Sony Pictures. Sony Music's Columbia/Epic Label Group will be releasing the album. Sales of Jackson's records spiked after his death, and the release of the movie and album will add to the value of the "Thriller" singer's estate, estimated at around $400 million. Sony Music said the first disc of the album will feature some of Jackson's greatest hits plus two versions of the new single. The second disc will include unreleased versions of some of the singer's classic tracks and a spoken word poem entitled "Planet Earth" performed by Jackson and never heard before. Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:07:44 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4881.shtml eworld world Elinor Ostrom has become the first woman to win the Nobel prize for economics since it began in 1968. Ms Ostrom won the prize with fellow American Oliver Williamson for their separate work in economic governance, according to BBC. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is the last of the six Nobel prizes announced this year. Since 1980, it has gone to Americans 24 times. Last Friday, US President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize - though this aroused some controversy. BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders said the judges had rewarded work in areas of economics whose practitioners' "hands were clean" of involvement in the global financial crisis. 'Great surprise' The economics prize was not among the original Nobel awards, but was created in 1968 by the Swedish central bank in Alfred Nobel's memory. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited Professor Ostrom, who teaches at Indiana University, "for her analysis of economic governance," saying her work had demonstrated how common property could be successfully managed by groups using it. She told Swedish television that she was "in shock" at being the first woman to clinch the award, adding winning had been a "great surprise". Meanwhile, Professor Williamson, the academy said, developed a theory where business firms served as structures for conflict resolution. The University of Berkeley California academic has argued that hierarchical organisations such as companies represent alternative governance structures, which differ in their approaches to resolving conflicts of interest. "Over the last three decades, these seminal contributions have advanced economic governance research from the fringe to the forefront of scientific attention," the academy said. The pair will share the 10-million Swedish kronor (£910,000; $1.44m) prize. Last year, American academic Paul Krugman won the prize, in recognition of his analysis of trade patterns and where economic activity takes place. Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:01:29 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4880.shtml eworld world US President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee said he was awarded it for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples", according to BBC. The committee highlighted Mr Obama's efforts to strengthen international bodies and promote nuclear disarmament. There were a record 205 nominations for this year's prize. Zimbabwe's prime minister and a Chinese dissident had been among the favourites. The laureate - chosen by a five-member committee - wins a gold medal, a diploma and 10m Swedish kronor ($1.4m). "Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the Norwegian committee said in a statement. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population." Asked why the prize had been awarded to Mr Obama less than a year after he took office, Nobel committee head Thorbjoern Jagland said: "It was because we would like to support what he is trying to achieve". "It is a clear signal that we want to advocate the same as he has done," he said. He specifically mentioned Mr Obama's work to strengthen international institutions and work towards a world free of nuclear arms. The statement from the committee also said the US president had "created a new climate in international politics". "Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play," it said. The committee added that the US was now playing a more constructive role in meeting "the great climatic challenges" facing the world, and that democracy and human rights would be strengthened. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:13:19 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/ecity/2009/4879.shtml ecity region UEFA administration has confirmed the official transliteration of the cities of Ukraine and Poland to accept the final matches of European football championship of 2012. The organization decided to do so to avoid confusion and divergence connected to spelling of the geographical names. Thus, the name of the first Ukrainian capital will be the following: Kharkiv – English. Kharkiv – French. Charkiw – German. Charkow – Polish. Õàðê³â – Ukrainian. Õàðüêîâ –Russian. The other cities’ names are available on the official website of the executive committee. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:24:18 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4878.shtml eworld world German author Herta Mueller has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature, the academy in Stockholm has announced. As BBC reports, the Romanian-born writer follows last year's French winner Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, while British writer Doris Lessing won in 2007. Mueller, born in 1953, is renowned for her depiction of the harsh conditions under Nicolae Ceausescu's regime. The Swedish academy praised Mueller for both her poetry and prose. Literary prizes It said the writer had an ability to "depict the landscape of the dispossessed" and wrote "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose". Mueller was born to a family from Romania's German minority and her mother was deported to a labour camp in the Soviet Union after World War II. She emigrated to Germany in 1987, after being dismissed from her job in Romania during the 1970s due to her refusal to co-operate with the regime's secret police. Her first collection of German language short stories, published in 1982, was censored in Romania. Mueller's initial works were smuggled out of the country, while in later years she was awarded several literary prizes, including the Irish Republic Impac Award in 1998. One of her later books, 2001's The Appointment, goes into great detail about living under a stagnated dictatorship. Only a few of the author's works have been translated into English, including The Passport (1986), The Land of Green Plums (1994) and The Appointment. Mueller will receive a prize of 10 million Swedish Kronor (£892,000) along with her Nobel honour, which will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm later this year. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:12:19 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4877.shtml eworld world Ukraine continues shipping arms and military equipment to Georgia, a member of the Ukrainian parliament said on Thursday. "The Yushchenko-Saakashvili arms business goes on," said Valeriy Konovalyuk, former head of a parliamentary commission that looked into Ukrainian arms supplies to Georgia following the August 2008 conflict in the Caucasus, according to RIA Novosti. He said, in particular, modern air-defense systems were being sold "for peanuts" to the Georgian military. "After the end of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict in 2008, Ukraine - through the state-controlled company Ukrspetsstroi - continues deliveries of arms and military equipment to Georgia," he said. He added that later in October Ukrspetsstroi plans to sell to Georgia 12 modern T-84 Oplot tanks, among other weapons. He said that upcoming deliveries include 10 T-72 tanks, three BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, 20 Igla man-portable antiaircraft missile systems and 40 Strela shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile systems, as well as an assortment of ammunition, shells and rockets. However, he said proceeds from arms sales were not going to the state budget or being used for military needs. "In the past four years, arms sales yielded $2.5 billion with only around $200 million reaching the budget," he said. Meanwhile, Konovalyuk said the Ukrainian Armed Forces "are in a sorry state," with rampant abuses, especially in arms procurement, misuse of funds, and land scams, which cost the nation millions of dollars. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:04:34 +0200 http://news.mediaport.ua/eng/eworld/2009/4876.shtml eworld world From the beginning of 2010 Germany's most-read women's magazine will use amateur models. Brigitte Huber, chief editor of Brigitte magazine, says she will use and pay "real women" instead of professionals, as BBC reports. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:01:52 +0200