Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plans to resume flights to Tbilisi from January 31, and SkyUp Airlines from February 4, 2021.
Currently, there are no direct flights between the capitals of Ukraine and Georgia, Georgia plans to remove restrictions on international scheduled flights from February 1, 2021.
As noted in the UIA message on Thursday, after the official lifting of restrictions on air travel by the Georgian authorities, communication with Tbilisi by UIA flights will be possible twice a week: on Fridays and Sundays, with a return to Kyiv every Saturday and Monday.
In the future, from March 1, 2021, UIA expects to increase the number of flights in this direction to four flights per week.
SkyUp Airlines plans to launch flights Kyiv-Tbilisi from February 4 and Kyiv-Batumi from February 9.
The state-owned Oschadbank, according to preliminary results (without corrections and before the audit), in 2020 received a net profit of UAH 2.8 billion compared to UAH 277 million in 2019, the bank said on Friday.
“Since 2016, the bank has continued to operate profitably. The return on equity [RoE] of the bank at the end of 2020 is 13.8% and significantly exceeds the corresponding result in 2019 [some 1.3%],” the document said.
At the same time, Oschadbank said that the results of 2020 were significantly affected by creating reserves in accordance with international financial reporting standards (IFRS 9), due to negative forecasts for the activities of certain sectors of the economy. “These forecasts are caused by the application of adaptive and full quarantine restrictions in the fight against the coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic, as well as the current slowdown in business activity,” Oschadbank said.
Over the nine months of 2020, it posted a net profit of UAH 4.74 billion, which is 25 times higher than this indicator for the same period in 2019 (some UAH 189 million). The bank’s net interest income for the three quarters of last year increased by 35.4%, to UAH 5.67 billion, and the net commission income by 8.4%, to UAH 3.24 billion.
According to the report, the net interest income of Oschadbank as a whole for 2020 increased by UAH 2.5 billion, or by 45.4%, to about UAH 8 billion, mainly due to a decrease in interest expenses due to cheaper funding.
The financial institution indicated a significant increase in the fixed-term resource base last year more than UAH 9 billion (10%), including on deposits of individuals UAH 4.9 billion, and on deposits of business entities UAH 4.3 billion.
The loan portfolio for the year decreased by 3%, to UAH 63.2 billion, the press release said.
Among the achievements of last year, Oschadbank singled out a decrease in the level of non-performing loans (loans overdue more than 90 days) from 49% to 24%. During the year, it was possible to restructure loans totaling UAH 16.4 billion, in cases of non-performing loans, the courts issued verdicts in favor of Oschadbank in the amount of UAH 3.9 billion, of which it managed to return UAH 2.8 billion, the financial institution said.
The message also indicates that as of the end of 2020, Oschadbank’s equity capital was UAH 22 billion, and the capital adequacy ratio was 19%, while the National Bank’s standard was 10%.
The financial institution also indicated that in 2020 it paid UAH 3.4 billion in taxes, fees and mandatory payments to the state budget.
Oschadbank was founded in 1991. Its sole owner is the state.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2020, Oschadbank ranked second (UAH 266.29 billion) among 74 banks operating in the country in terms of total assets.
Foreign trade turnover by the most important positions in Jan-Oct 2020 (import).
Unique device of Israeli scientists for destruction of viruses ProtectAir is already available in Ukraine
The coronavirus pandemic has made adjustments to human daily life. To avoid infection, people are forced to follow safety rules – wear masks and use an antiseptic, which causes a lot of inconvenience. And indoors, the risk of coronavirus infection increases significantly. The problem of creating safe conditions for human life is more acute than ever.
Israeli scientists have created a unique and effective ProtectAir device for neutralizing coronavirus in enclosed spaces, where the risk of infection increases significantly. The device is already widely used in all spheres of Israelis’ life. Now this indispensable device has appeared in Ukraine.
Director of the Institute of Experimental Radiology, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Victoria Talko praised the development of Israeli scientists: “Disinfection and cleaning of premises from bacteria, viruses and mold, as a rule, occurs by spraying a substance (usually an aqueous solution) on the surface where pathogens can accumulate. However, this method is not always effective, since it is limited by the time frame and disinfection zones.
The Israeli company Hila Pharma managed to create a technology – Protect Air-, which disinfects the room using a gaseous material (chlorine dioxide). The substance slowly evaporates into the air over time. Its effect lasts for several weeks (depending on the amount of material). Disinfection is safe for the human’s health. The device does not require the use of electricity or additional actions.
Chlorine dioxide has powerful oxidizing properties and neutralizes bacteria and viruses by destroying the protein structures of the cell shell or viral envelope. The chlorine dioxide molecule oxidizes with high efficiency and therefore has a significant effect on viruses even at low concentrations.
Diffusion and expansion of gas molecules in air can provide effective and comprehensive protection without dead corners in closed or semi-closed spaces. And the slow release technology allows the gas to be distributed evenly and continuously, without air handling, surpassing traditional high-frequency disinfection.
The product is safe for humans and animals, since the multicomponent intracellular antioxidant system reliably protects against the effects of oxidation when using chlorine dioxide in the concentrations recommended for disinfection in eukaryotes.
The substance does not belong to chlorine-type disinfectants, does not contain hypochlorous acid, which harms the cells of the human body. Unlike chlorine, chlorine dioxide does not enter into chlorination reactions with other substances and chemical elements, does not produce the carcinogens trichlomethanes. At the same time, its biocidal effect on bacteria, viruses, fungi and other pathogens is more powerful than that of chlorine, due to active oxygen. Chlorine dioxide in the form of air vapor provides long-term effectiveness.”
ProtectAir is very easy to use. To disinfect a room, you need to install it in the center of the room at a height of 1.8 meters. After two hours of work in an empty room, the viral load will drop by 50%, and after 24 hours the room will be free of viruses.
ProtectAir disinfects by rapid oxidation: low concentrations of CIO2 gas come into contact with the microorganism shell and destroy proteins. CIO2 deactivates viral receptor binding and prevents viral replication.
ProtectAir destroys aggressive viruses, bacteria, allergens and other microbes without harming human, animal and environmental health.
ProtectAir combines the active ingredient, Chlorine Dioxide (ClO2), with a sustained release formula, allowing the active ingredient to cover the entire space evenly.
Unlike standard chlorine material, ClO2 is not a carcinogen.
ProtectAir is unique in that it emits minuscule doses of chlorine dioxide. This allows it, on the one hand, to destroy viruses, and on the other, to remain completely safe for people and animals.
ProtectAir creates and maintains a secure indoor environment:
– In offices
– In the premises in which classes are held (schools, kindergartens, university auditoriums)
– In restaurants and cafes
– In the halls and locker rooms of sports complexes
– In elevators
– In taxi
– In the apartment (even if there is a patient with coronavirus)
The main advantages of ProtectAir:
– Disinfects indoor air, prevents the spread of bacteria and viruses
– Protects against coronavirus, pneumococcus and other epidemic viruses
– Reduces human exposure to allergens such as pollen
– Protects against pathogens of infectious diseases
– Neutralizes odors
At the moment, ProtectAir is the only effective tool on the Ukrainian market that can protect people in an enclosed space from infection.
For more information – Protectair.com.ua
Exports of agricultural food from Ukraine in January-November 2020 decreased 0.3% compared to the same period in 2019, to $20 billion, the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture said on Tuesday, citing data of the State Statistics Service.
“During the reporting period, Ukraine supplied agricultural food to the EU for the amount of $5.8 billion, or 28.9% of the total export of such products,” Economy Minister Ihor Petrashko said in a statement.
According to the State Statistics Service, in addition to the EU, the largest importers of Ukrainian agri-food products in January-November 2020 were China with $3.1 billion, India with $1.3 billion, Egypt with $1.3 billion and Turkey with $0.9 billion.
Over the period, cereals, oil and meat products were exported most of all. In addition, the supply of sunflower oil, barley, wheat, honey, fruits and nuts, bakery and confectionery products increased, the ministry said.
As previously reported by the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), the export of agricultural food products from Ukraine in 2019 amounted to $22.2 billion, which is 19% more than in 2018. According to its data, over the year the share of agri-food products of total exports from the country amounted to 44%.
The new team is going to strengthen the educational direction of the contest and expand the circle of its potential participants
NGO Presszvanie Ukraine, the initiator of the contest for journalists PRESSZVANIE, is reshuffling its board. Journalist and blogger Denys Bezliudko will become Chairman of the Management Board. The board will include Chief Editor of the magazines Dengi and Korrespondent Oleksandr Kramarenko, as well as Marketing Director of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency Maksim Urakin.
“The new board of NGO Presszvanie Ukraine includes experienced media managers who have raised more than one generation of journalists. These are professionals for whom freedom of speech and journalistic ethics are integral parts of life. This team is able to provide the PRESSZVANIE contest with new avenues for work meeting the challenge of the times,” ex-head of NGO Presszvanie Ukraine Dmytro Slipenko said.
“I probably went through all the stages, I was a nominee and a winner, participated in the work of the Supervisory Board of the contest and in organizing the work of PRESSZVANIE. The strategic plan is to grow the contest into a permanent media community, a platform for communication, training of journalists and development of the industry as a whole,” Bezliudko said.
“For me, this is a new challenge and an opportunity to repay the debt to the profession, since until now I have not been particularly active in the interests of the professional community in general. What do we do? We will create a platform for passing on the most interesting ideas and visions. We will involve those colleagues whom the old media simply did not notice until recently. Professional ratings are an opportunity for recent debutants to raise their personal capitalization, which is very important for each of the media professionals and for the market as a whole,” Kramarenko said.
“The award will receive more nominations for traditional journalism and the involvement of representatives of the new media – bloggers – in the project. In addition, an educational program, as well as other projects to improve the qualifications of media representatives, will be created under the PRESSZVANIE brand and with the participation of leading industry professionals,” Maksim Urakin said.
Reference
PRESSZVANIE is an annual award for journalists and editors that can be received for leadership and professionalism since 2005. The project develops an educational platform and is held under the auspices of NGO Presszvanie Ukraine, which mission is to create conditions for the development of Ukrainian journalism.
