Every sugar factory has a place where numbers are turned into decisions, and decisions are turned into consistent quality. This is the laboratory. Its work is explained in the new free online course “Sugar Factory Laboratory” on the AgriAcademy educational platform by technologists from the Astarta agro-industrial holding, writes SEEDS.
The course will help specialists combine the field and production into one clear technological chain — without sucrose losses, with transparent control and predictable results.
What is this course about?
It is a unique opportunity to see the entire journey that sugar beets take to ensure that every kilogram of sugar is of high quality — from the field to the crystal.
You will learn:
The course focuses on systematic quality control:
The course is part of a series of courses on sugar beet cultivation and processing technologies from the agro-industrial holding “Astarta.”
Other training courses from Astarta specialists are also available on the platform:
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding in Ukraine, a public European company that conducts socially responsible business and produces food products with a focus on global markets. Its main activities are concentrated in crop production, the sugar industry, dairy farming, soybean processing, grain logistics, and bioenergy.
AgriAcademy is a free online learning platform created on the initiative of the EBRD as part of its food security support program in Ukraine. Its goal is to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainable development of agriculture, which has suffered significant losses due to the war.
The creation and management of the platform (including the development of courses, educational tours, etc.) is carried out with the support and funding of the EBRD, as well as:
agriculturalist, ASTARTA, educational course, sugar factory laboratory
Renewable energy sources (RES) in the European Union accounted for 54% of total electricity generation in the second quarter of 2025, up 1.3 percentage points from 52.7% a year earlier, the EU statistics office said.
This was mainly due to higher generation from solar power plants (SPPs), which accounted for 19.9% of total output.
At the same time, June was the first month in history when SES accounted for the bulk of generation (22%). This was followed by nuclear power plants (21.6%), wind power plants (15.8%), hydropower plants (14.1%) and gas-fired power plants (13.8%).
The most significant share of RES in total generation was recorded in Denmark (94.7%), where RES account for a significant amount of electricity generation. This is followed by Latvia (93.4%), Austria (91.8%), Croatia (89.5%) and Portugal (85.6%).
The lowest share of RES is in Slovakia (19.9%), Malta (21.2%) and the Czech Republic (22.1%).
The IMK agricultural holding will not launch any new investment projects in 2026, but will allocate approximately $25 million to equipment upgrades, according to Alex Lissitsa, advisor to the holding’s board of directors.
“We will invest up to $25 million next year, primarily in equipment, but also in our other projects,” he said at the Forbes Agro 2025 conference in Kyiv on Friday.
IMK is an integrated group of companies operating in the Sumy, Poltava, and Chernihiv regions (northern and central Ukraine) in the crop production, elevators, and warehouses segments. Its land bank covers 116,000 hectares, and its storage capacity is 554,000 tons for the 2024 harvest of 864,000 tons.
IMK ended 2024 with a net profit of $54.54 million, compared to a net loss of $21.03 million in 2023. Revenue grew by 52% to $211.29 million, gross profit quadrupled to $109.10 million, and normalized EBITDA increased 25-fold to $86.11 million.
The Ganges River is experiencing its worst crisis in 1,300 years, which could have far-reaching socio-economic consequences and exacerbate relations between India and Pakistan over the issue of water resource distribution, Phys.org writes, citing a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar and the University of Arizona have found that the current drying of the Ganges from 1991 to 2020 is 76% more severe than the previous worst drought in the 16th century. The river has become drier overall, with droughts occurring more frequently and lasting longer.
The main reason is anthropogenic impact, in particular the warming of the Indian Ocean and atmospheric pollution from industrial and transport aerosols, which weaken the summer monsoon.
To reconstruct the flow over 1,300 years (700–2012 AD), scientists used tree ring data from the Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas, combining it with modern observations and verifying it against documented droughts and famines.
The Ganges is a key source of drinking water, agriculture, and industry for more than 600 million people in India. The deepening water crisis could directly affect relations between India and Pakistan, as the countries already have long-standing disputes over the distribution of river flows under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.
Pakistan has repeatedly warned about threats to its water supply due to Indian hydropower projects. The worsening shortage of the Ganges and related changes in other river basins could create new sources of tension between the countries.
The authors of the study call for
improved climate modeling to account for the regional impact of human activity,
the development of new adaptive water management strategies to avoid large-scale shortages.
The Ganges River has historically played not only an economic but also a cultural and religious role in South Asia. At the same time, access to water resources in the region is already the subject of geopolitical competition. Increased climate risks could make this issue another factor in the confrontation between India and Pakistan.
The average cost of renting a one-room apartment in Kyiv was €615, according to the ranking of rental prices for housing in Europe.
The ten most expensive cities included Monaco (€6,500), London (€2,797), Zurich (€2,570), Reykjavik (€2,160), and Dublin (€1,997). These megacities remain inaccessible to most tenants, and the cost of rent is comparable to the monthly income of the average resident.
The most affordable housing among European capitals is offered by Skopje (€250) and Sarajevo (€271). In these cities, the rental market remains relatively stable and is determined by local incomes.
Kyiv is among the countries with relatively low rental costs — €615. This is lower than in Belgrade (€750), Warsaw (€880), and Prague (€922), but higher than in Tallinn (€600), Zagreb (€570), or Sofia (€550). Experts note that with the continuing military risk and population outflow, demand for rentals remains limited, which is holding back price growth.
The study is based on data from major European real estate portals and is updated every six months. The methodology takes into account the median cost of renting apartments in the center and on the outskirts of cities. The rating is widely used by investors and analysts to assess the investment attractiveness of housing markets and the level of rental affordability for the population.
The online electronics and home appliances store Rozetka, in partnership with Unex Bank and the Mastercard payment system, has issued its own credit card with a limit of UAH 200,000.
According to the information on the company’s website, the card is available to Ukrainian citizens over the age of 18. After registering on the platform’s website, users will have access to additional exclusive low prices on Rozetka products, even on promotional items, bonuses, discounts, a credit limit of up to UAH 200,000, the ability to use the limit for purchases on Rozetka, payment in installments, and regular transactions.
It is noted that the grace period is available for up to 62 days (0.0001%), outside the grace period the rate will be 4.334% per month. The real annual interest rate is 54.77%.
Installment plans are available for up to 24 months, and you can also fully control your expenses and payments in the Rozetka app.
There is no card service fee, but Unex Bank will open a separate account to create it.
The Rozetka online store for electronics and household appliances was founded in 2005 in Kyiv by Vladislav and Irina Chechotkin, and later Horizon Capital became a co-owner of the company. Today, the company has transformed into a multi-category online marketplace, but it is also developing a network of its own stores. As of August 1, 2025, the chain has 549 stores in 166 cities.
