NEWSBRIEFS (07/12/98)

NEWSBRIEFS

Health officials warn of radioactive food

KYIV - Ukrainian health officials have found dozens of cases of excess radioactivity in foodstuffs being sold in Kyiv markets, particularly blueberries and mushrooms, the Associated Press reported on July 2. Health authorities have begun televised warnings about the products, which originate from areas of the country contaminated by the 1986 explosion at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine signs environmental convention

KYIV - Vice Minister of Environmental and Nuclear Safety Yaroslav Movchan said Ukraine has signed a convention on environmental protection at the fourth conference of ecology ministers held on June 23-25 in Orhus, Denmark, during the Environment for Europe conference. The agreement provides for the creation and modernization of mechanisms that will guarantee access of citizens to ecological information while also widening participation in environmental policy-making. Mr. Movchan said that signing, and eventually ratifying, this convention is an important step in the construction of a democratic society. He said that 35 of the 55 countries in attendance signed the convention. Mr. Movchan reported that Ukraine was mentioned as a possible host for the next Environment for Europe conference in 2002. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine raises interest rate to 82 percent

KYIV - The Ukrainian National Bank on July 6 announced that it will raise its key interest rate from 51 percent to 82 percent beginning on July 7, ITAR-TASS reported. The hike is widely seen as a measure to support the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia, whose exchange rate has been falling due to growing mistrust among foreign investors in Ukraine's financial markets. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma orders anti-crisis measures

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on July 1 ordered his Cabinet of Ministers to prepare measures to halt the country's economic decline, the Associated Press reported. Presidential spokesman Oleksander Maidannyk said the measures, which are to be issued as decrees due to the standstill in the Verkhovna Rada, seek to stabilize the economic situation in the country. Mr. Maidannyk said President Kuchma's measures will reduce taxes, give tax breaks to large foreign investors, lower the need for foreign credit and attract international investment. Other possible steps include increased support for farmers and an amnesty for Ukrainians abroad who left with large amounts of money. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine considers Brazil launch sites

KHARKIV - Ukraine and Brazil are discussing the possible use of a site in Brazil for launching communications satellites with Ukrainian rockets. Initial calculations show that commercial launches in Brazil would be 30 percent cheaper than launches from Cape Canaveral because of its proximity to the equator. Industrial Policy Minister Vasyl Hureiev said Ukrainian rockets are popular and economical and have virtually no equivalents in the world. He added that "Brazil has already received Ukraine's proposal for the project and an agreement has been reached for a working group from a Brazilian company to visit Ukraine to become acquainted with the capabilities and potential of Ukrainian enterprises." (Eastern Economist)

Kyiv on transport of Caspian oil

KYIV - Uladislau Toroshevskyi, the acting chairman of Ukraine's Committee for the Oil and Gas Industry, said on July 1 that Kyiv is trying to ensure that oil will be transported through Odesa and along the Odesa-Brody pipeline, ITAR- TASS reported. Mr. Toroshevskyi was speaking at an oil conference in Kyiv. He said the government has adopted a resolution to expedite the establishment of an international consortium that would promote and improve conditions for the transport of Caspian oil through Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma-Yeltsin meeting canceled

MOSCOW - Serhii Yastrzhembskyi, Russian President Boris Yeltsin's press-secretary announced on June 26 that an unofficial meeting between President Yeltsin and President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine, which had been scheduled for July in Crimea, was canceled because of the economic and political situations in both countries. (Eastern Economist)

Newspaper's Lviv reporter beaten up

KYIV - A Den newspaper reporter, Oleksander Syrtsov, was assaulted and beaten by two unknown persons near his home in Lviv. According to information from Reporters Without Borders, an independent international organization defending freedom of speech, Mr. Syrtsov had written several articles criticizing local authorities. President Leonid Kuchma has instructed the procurator general and internal affairs minister to investigate the case. (Eastern Economist)