The Ukrainian Observer

ISSUE: 209/4 My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher. - Socrates UKRAINE HEADLINES Premium Content - Magazine Cover - Click to see enlarged [#] Login Name: Password: Remember me Click to see next cartoon>> Dear Readers, Remember the Wizard of Oz, that popular American fairytale in which a wholesome Kansas girl sets off along a yellow brick road in search of the fabled Emerald City? As you might recall, she and her companions are disappointed to learn that the city and its wizard aren't all they were cracked up to be. Dorothy only wanted to get home. Our cartoon Cossack can't even get in to see the Wizard, portrayed on our cover as the E.U. trinity of Blair, Schroeder and Chirac. Read more » DAILY NEWS from WILLARD NEWS SERVICE WNS news brief for June 30th The Prosecutor-General’s Office has wrapped up its case against 27 members of a criminal gang in Odessa facing 33 counts of kidnapping, assault, arson and murder. Police confiscated three machine guns, 23 hand grenades, various types of other firearms and explosives, and 20,000 dollars in cash. According to the Interior Ministry’s press service, the gang is headed by Oleg Popesko, who is thought to be hiding out in Romania under a fictitious name, but the Romanian authorities refuse to extradite him. The case is being headed by Halyna Klymovych, who has had two attempts made on her life. The 27 gang members in custody are now awaiting trial. The U.S. State Department has expressed concern over the Ukrainian government’s economic policy. During a recent conference Ukraine Desk Political Officer Paul Carter accused President Viktor Yushchenko’s team of pursuing populist measures toward next year’s parliamentary elections at the expense of macroeconomic stability. Carter also warned that threats of re-privatization could impede foreign investment. The government has prohibited state oil and gas company Naftohaz Ukrayiny from re-exporting Russian gas until the company is able to sign contracts on the import of gas at "minimum prices in quantities that would fully satisfy the needs of the internal market." Naftohaz has already exported around 2bn of a planned 5bn cubic meters of gas this year. According to the government, the country is 8bn cubic meters short. The Ukrainian state company recently lost the option of paying for half the gas it buys from Turkmenistan in goods. Land in Ukraine will be sold at auctions, the head of Ukraine’s State Property Fund, Valentina Semenyuk, has said. The procedures will be simplified and the time frames shortened, she told journalists. Additionally, according to a decision taken yesterday by the National Security and Defense Council, enterprises will be sold together with the land they stand on. Ihor Bakay, a top state official in Ukraine under former President Leonid Kuchma who is now wanted for financial machinations and abuse of office by the new administration, was detained and then released in Moscow on Tuesday. Bakay was detained while driving in a car with Russian state plates. He was released after presenting a Russian passport. 30.06 2005, 16:52 WNS for June 29th NATO General Secretary Jaap De Hoop Scheffer has wrapped up a visit to Kyiv. The possibility of Ukraine participating in anti-terrorist exercises in the Mediterranean and a mission in the Sudan were discussed. NATO and Ukraine have changed, said De Hoop Scheffer, adding that the alliance is now most interested in supporting Kyiv’s Euro-integration bid and providing the Ukrainian people with objective information about itself. A NATO-Ukraine Commission is scheduled for October. De Hoop Scheffer discussed scrapping Soviet-era munitions with Viktor Yushchenko: "We all understand that Ukraine can’t handle this problem on its own," the Ukrainian president was quoted as saying. Renova Group, headed by Viktor Vekselberg, and major investors in EvrazHolding, both based in Russia, are buying a 74% stake in Ukraine’s Nikopolsky Ferroalloy Plan, from Viktor Pinchuk, one of Ukraine’s richest men. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s daughter Yevgeniya, 25, is getting married to a British rock musician named Sean, around 10 years her senior, in October, Ukrainian media have reported. Yevgeniya studied in the U.K. Tymoshenko has called for the creation of a coalition to run in next spring’s parliamentary elections – to include her Fatherland party, Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine, and parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn’s People’s Party. When asked what the chances were of forming the coalition, she said: "Today, as during the presidential elections, the ball is probably not in my court. It is in the court of those trying to create intrigues about such things, those who think that they can compromise the government, compromise me and somehow replace the premier." Three former secretaries of state and several other influential American political figures have called on George Bush to help Ukraine join the European Union and NATO. An appeal signed by Madeleine Albright, Henry Kissinger and James Baker urges Bush to help Ukraine build constructive relations with Russia, diversify its energy resources and strengthen trade. 29.06 2005, 17:17 WNS news brief for June 23rd WNS news brief for June 22 More>> CONTACT US User: Guest Subscribe now! UKRAINIAN DAYBOOK Events, Facts, News from Ukraine UKRAINE UPDATE The Ukrainian Observer provides daily news headlines and briefs Monday through Friday. COLUMNISTS RANDOM NOTES: Approaching 60 at 80 MPH THE WORKPLACE: Naked Business People LATITUDES & ATTITUDES: A United States of Europe (kind of) DIALOGUE AND DEBATE E.U. Membership : Maybe in the Next Ice Age Expat in Iraq Of Bear Hugs and Eurocrats: Assessing Ukrainian Democracy Intrigue in Ukraine's Aviation Industry? KNOWLEDGE CENTER The Tragedy of Heroes IN A WORD Hot or Not EASTERN APPROACHES Why America Will Perish Sofiyivka Park: Historical Romance in Driving Distance Mr. Baroque SHORT STORY Nothing and Everything POTPOURRI YESTERDAY Pravda Natalie Wood The Water Cooler SURVEY Survey ARCHIVES The Ukraine Observer's previous issues To the current (last) issue CARTOON Cartoons gallery FOCUS ON THE WILLARD GROUP Web site of The Willard Group The Willard Group © 1999-2003