The opposition Likud party and its partners in Israel’s right-wing bloc may win a parliamentary majority in Israel’s parliamentary elections, The Jerusalem Post reports, citing polling results at the exit from polling stations.
Netanyahu’s bloc, which includes the Likud, the Religious Zionists, the single list of ultra-Orthodox parties Yahadut HaTorah and the ultra-religious Shas, can win 61 seats out of 120, according to exit polls. The Times of Israel predicts that the bloc Netanyahu will have 61-62 seats, Channel 12 predicts that the Netanyahu bloc will have 61 seats, Channel 13 – 62 seats, while the bloc of current Prime Minister Yair Lapid, according to the exit polls of these two channels, has 54-55 seats.
According to the Channel 12 exit poll, the Likud party, led by Netanyahu, could get 30 seats. According to the Channel 13 exit poll, Likud could win 31 seats. Lapid’s Yesh Atid party won 24 seats, according to exit polls from both channels.
However, the balance of power after the counting of all votes may still change, but the Israeli media is generally inclined to believe that, following the results of the current elections, Netanyahu may be able to regain power and become the head of government again. The final results will be known in the coming days, but by Wednesday morning, with the exception of some details, it will already be clear what the balance of power in the 25th Knesset will be, media say.
Polling stations in Israel closed at 22:00 (22:00 Kyiv time). The Israelis elected a new unicameral parliament, the Knesset.
The Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP) is launching the Danube Grain Route project due to the disruption of the “grain initiative” by Russia, UDP CEO Dmitry Moskalenko said on his Facebook page.
“Back in the summer, we assumed that Russia could at any moment try to disrupt the Grain Initiative. Therefore, we persistently and systematically developed our Danube Grain Route project,” Moskalenko explained.
According to him, UDP has invested in the creation of its own transshipment of grain and agreed with the Romanian partners – the TTS group of companies – on a faster and more efficient transshipment scheme in the port of Constanta.
Among the advantages of the new grain project at the first stage, Moskalenko noted that due to the faster loading and unloading process, the average caravan turnaround time will be reduced by about 30%. As a result, cargo owners will not have to bear financial losses due to long queues near the terminal.
In addition, the Director General of the UDP predicts that in the future the barge caravan will be able to carry out up to two trips per month due to the equipping of ships with online control systems, video surveillance and an increase in the number of navigators in the crew.
Moskalenko also said that at the second stage of the project, it is planned to build new barges, to increase the “tonnage” capabilities and modernize traction – a major overhaul of the self-propelled fleet with the replacement of engines.
As reported with reference to the data of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, in just three months of the implementation of the Grain Initiative, 422 ships from Ukrainian seaports exported about 10 million tons of agricultural products. This volume could be 30-40% more if Russia did not block inspections in the Bosphorus.
On the afternoon of October 31, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that without the participation of the Russian Federation, the export of Ukrainian grain would hardly be feasible. At the same time, he noted that from now on the grain deal acquires a “risky and non-guaranteed character.”
Ships flying the Turkish flag will be able to continue exporting grain from Ukrainian ports without any problems, despite the suspension of Russia’s participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.
“There are no problems with the exit of ships under the flag of Turkey. They will continue to leave Ukrainian ports,” the Turkish media quoted the minister as saying.
Akar also expressed hope that the parties will be able to agree on the implementation of the agreement on grain in full.
The topic of the grain deal, as reported, was discussed by phone on Monday and Tuesday by the foreign ministers and defense ministers of Russia and Turkey.
In January-September 2022, PJSC Alfa Insurance Company (Kyiv) collected a third less gross premiums (by 32.97%) than in the same period in 2021 – UAH 719.3 million, the RA reported “Expert Rating” in the information on confirmation of the company’s financial strength rating at the level of “uaAA +” on the national scale based on the results of work for the specified reporting period.
According to the RA press release, the share of insurance premiums owned by reinsurers decreased by 48.04% over nine months, to UAH 7.878 million in the same comparison.
At the same time, the company made insurance payments in the amount of UAH 258.4 million, which is 11.68% less than in January-September a year earlier.
For the period from September 30, 2021 to September 30, 2022, the company’s equity increased by 44.26% to UAH 485.52 million, while its gross liabilities increased by 7.05% to UAH 556.07 million. As a result of the high growth rates of own capital, the level of coverage of the company’s obligations by equity capital increased by 22.52 percentage points, up to 87.31%, which indicates a high level of equity capital provision, the RA notes.
The volume of cash and cash equivalents on the company’s accounts increased by 83.12% and amounted to UAH 736.7 million, while the ratio between cash and gross liabilities of the insurer increased by 55.03 percentage points, to UAH 132.48 million .
The RA also notes that as of September 30, 2022, PJSC IC Alfa Insurance formed a portfolio of investments in government bonds (OVGZ and OZGP) in the amount of UAH 56.36 million, which had a positive effect on the provision of liquid assets.
During the reporting period, the operating profit of the insurer increased by 3.77 times compared to the same period in 2021, to UAH 138.43 million, and its net profit increased by 4.09 times, to UAH 126.47 million.
IC Alfa Insurance was founded in 2000 and is one of the top 10 leaders in the Ukrainian insurance market. Offers a versatile portfolio of services, including comprehensive business protection programs and a wide range of insurance products for individuals.
The volume of computer services in January-September 2022 increased by 13% and amounted to almost $5.5 billion, the IT Ukraine Association (ITU) reported, citing data from the National Bank of Ukraine.
“According to the results of nine months of this year, the national IT industry maintains a positive growth trend and remains the only export industry that consistently generates foreign exchange earnings in the Ukrainian economy during the war. Ukrainian companies continue to work continuously and complete projects, pay taxes on time, attract investments and new customers , to actively enter the global market,” the message on the association’s website emphasizes.
According to the NBU, in the first nine months of 2022, the volume of computer services increased by 13%, to almost $5.5 billion. At the same time, the amount of taxes and fees paid by the IT industry for this period amounted to UAH 48 billion.
The Association emphasized that the Ukrainian IT business is doing everything possible to ensure maximum readiness for any scenario of events in Ukraine due to the full-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation.
“Companies are constantly adapting their infrastructure to wartime realities: key systems are brought into the cloud, the network of Internet providers is diversified, including through the Starlink global satellite system, office premises are equipped with generators to provide backup power supply,” the ITU explained.
According to the association, up to 15% of IT specialists are also involved in the Cybertroops, and 3% of IT specialists defend the country with weapons in their hands. The remaining 82% work further in companies that support the economic front of the state, actively donate and volunteer. According to ITU estimates, the total amount of donations from the Ukrainian technology sector has already exceeded $500 million.
At the same time, the report indicates that, compared with previous years, the growth rate of the industry has slowed down and does not correspond to pre-war forecasts for 2022. In order to preserve and further develop the industry in the country, it is important to resolve at the state level a number of issues important for the industry related to personnel in the context of martial law.
“In addition to the objective reasons for this trend related to the war, it is critically important to resolve the issue of booking IT specialists, allow them to temporarily travel abroad to support business activities and work with clients, maintain Ukrainian tax residency of companies and specialists,” the executive director of the association emphasized. Konstantin Vasyuk.
According to him, state support in resolving these issues is of key importance.
During a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to hold an international conference on assistance to Ukraine in the coming winter in Paris on December 13, the Elysee Palace said on Tuesday.
“The President of the Republic (…) expressed his determination to help Ukraine weather the approach of winter (…). He indicated that France would increase its support in this regard and take part in international mobilization (aid). The two presidents agreed to organize on December 13 in Paris an international conference in support of the civil resilience of the country during the winter period,” the presidential office said in a communiqué.
We are talking, in particular, about the restoration of infrastructure, electricity and water supply.
The document says that for this “preparatory work with other partners of Ukraine will begin in the near future.”
In addition, according to the communiqué, Macron and Zelensky also agreed on the organization of a bilateral conference aimed at helping Ukraine from French enterprises, which will be held on December 12.
