NEWSBRIEFS (01/11/98)

NEWSBRIEFS

Historic church burns in Tallinn

TALLINN - A Ukrainian church located here in the capital city of Estonia was heavily damaged by a fire that broke out at about 7 p.m. on December 31, 1997. The historic building's roof and its second floor, whose renovation was nearly completed, were destroyed by the blaze, and some portions of the ancient adornments on the first floor were damaged. The second floor was to house parish offices and the Ukrainian Sunday school. The church - built more than 400 years ago - was given to the Ukrainian community in 1993 on a long-term lease. During the Soviet era the building was used by the KGB as a warehouse. In 1997 the church was blessed and restoration work was begin. Authorities in Tallinn have begun an investigation into the fire. (Respublika)

Rada approves space program

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on December 23, 1997, approved the final version of the law on the national space program for 1998-2001 by a vote of 242-3. According to National Space Agency Director Oleksander Nehoda, the aim of the program is to unify state operations in the space sector and "create a national network for space objects." He said that the next eight launches in the next five years. Mr. Nehoda said the program would include the launch of the Lybid satellite, which will provide satellite communications, navigation and satellite TV. Implementation of this program will allow digital satellite television to be introduced in 1998 and Ukraine's four national channels to be broadcast to European countries, Russia and Israel. The full cost of the program will be 1.42 billion hrv and $250 million (U.S.). A sum of 1.3 billion hrv will come from the state budget, 106.3 million hrv from Central European Initiative countries and $250 million (U.S.) as credit from international banks. Mr. Nehoda added that Ukraine had signed agreements on cooperation in space with 20 countries and its space enterprises are involved in 25 international projects and programs. Mr. Nehoda said, "Ukraine has integrated into the world market of commercial space services and technologies." (Eastern Economist)

Kuchma orders cuts in spending

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has told the Cabinet that it must cut spending rather than seek new revenues in order to lower the budget deficit in 1998 and thus reduce the need for foreign borrowing, Interfax reported on January 5, quoting President Kuchma's adviser Anatolii Halchynskyi. In the past, Kyiv has stressed improving tax collection rather than cutting expenditures as the best way to reduce the budget deficit. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine insists Britain yield building

KYIV - The Ukrainian government is insisting that the United Kingdom give up an Embassy building in Kyiv because of concerns that Embassy officials may overhear conversations of President Leonid Kuchma, who lives next door, reported the newspaper Vseukrainskiye Viedomosti on January 5. Questions of compensation have not yet been resolved, the newspaper said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lytvak and Miller discuss crime-busting

KYIV - Meeting with outgoing U.S. Ambassador William Miller on December 23, 1997, Acting Procurator General Oleh Lytvak noted that there had been a significant strengthening of links between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries in the last few years and that Ambassador Miller had made a significant contribution to this process. The two voiced a shared desire to develop cooperation in the crime-fighting sector, which they view as one of the most important directions in the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the U.S. They also stressed the necessity of finding a stable and constructive way of resolving the current problems impeding provision of legal aid and cooperation in other areas. (Eastern Economist)

Rock 'n roll McDonald's opens in Kyiv

KYIV - The seventh McDonald's opening took place on December 19, 1997, in the capital's biggest suburb, Troyeschyna, one day earlier than planned. The new restaurant seats 130 and has a drive-thru and offers a rock 'n roll theme. Managing Director Karl Fritz said his company had invested about $1 million (U.S.) in the new eatery. This brings total investment to $11 million, and the number of local employees to 1,100. Some 4 million people have already visited McDonald's restaurants in Kyiv and Kharkiv. Plans for next year: 20 new restaurants in six cities, with the first one opening in February in Dnipropetrovsk. (Eastern Economist)

Ukrainian, Polish presidents visit battalion

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma and his Polish counterpart, Alexander Kwasniewski, visited the Ukrainian-Polish peacekeeping battalion at its Yavoriv training site on January 3, ITAR-TASS reported. Earlier, the two presidents opened a new border post at Krakowiec-Korczow to handle the increasing volume of traffic between the two countries and to serve as a link between the Baltic and Black Sea regions. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Science center approves new projects

KYIV - The governing board of the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine concluded its meeting in Kyiv on December 16, 1997. The STCU is a multilateral non-proliferation and scientific cooperation program that provides employment opportunities to scientists and engineers in Ukraine who previously worked in the weapons or missile technology sector. The board approved 33 scientific and technical projects valued at $3.6 million (U.S.), supporting 475 Ukrainian scientists and engineers. Projects will take place at institutes, universities and scientific organizations in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and Donetsk. These latest awards bring the total amount funded to date to about $18 million, helping to support 2,675 highly qualified scientists and engineers. (Eastern Economist)

10 M hrv allocated to battle AIDS

KYIV - Scientists working for the United Nations AIDS program forecast that the number of HIV-infected people in Ukraine will reach 900,000 by 2001. At present, the official figure is 20,000, although unofficial figures suggest it is much higher, at 190,000. The chair of the State Anti-AIDS and Narcotics Committee, Volodymyr Ivasiuk, confirmed that 10 million hrv were allocated in 1997 for prevention of AIDS and drug use in Ukraine. International organizations supplied $1.1 million (U.S.) to Ukraine for such purposes. (Eastern Economist)

NATO-Ukraine Commission meets

WASHINGTON - A two-day forum of the foreign ministers of 44 member-states of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council ended on December 18, 1997, in Brussels. The meeting was attended by Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Anton Buteiko and Minister of Emergencies Valerii Kalchenko. Addressing journalists, the Ukrainian foreign affairs minister stressed the importance of the Brussels forum, particularly the first meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission, held concurrently with the forum. He said the commission's meeting resulted in the signing of a Memorandum on Mutual Understanding by Ministers Udovenko and Kalchenko and NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana. The document provides for implementation of several joint programs on assisting civilian populations during natural disasters and fires. The memorandum also provides for Ukraine-NATO cooperation in eliminating the aftermath of the Chornobyl nuclear accident. (Embassy of Ukraine)

Ukraine, Germany agree on cooperation

WASHINGTON - Ukraine and Germany seek enhancement of cooperation in the military sphere, with a special emphasis to be placed not only on military/political collaboration but on military/technical matters as well. Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksander Kuzmuk met with his German counterpart,Volker Ruye, in Bonn. An agreement was signed on December 16, 1997, in Bonn by Ukrainian Minister of Industrial Policies Vasyl Hureiev and State Secretary of the German Foreign Ministry Hans-Friedrich von Pletz. The design of a new European military transport aircraft based on the AN-70 was cited as a major project. The German defense minister said 18 joint Ukrainian-German projects are planned to be implemented in 1998. (Embassy of Ukraine)