In January-March 2024, VUSO Insurance Company PrJSC (Kyiv) collected UAH 641.63 million in gross premiums, which is 5.15% more than in the same period of 2023, according to the rating agency (RA) Standard Rating in information on the confirmation of the company’s financial strength rating at the level of “uaAA” on the national scale.
According to the RA website, in particular, the insurer’s revenues from individuals increased by 0.79% to UAH 413.554 million, and from reinsurers – by 55.66% to UAH 10.283 million. Thus, the share of individuals in the insurer’s gross written premiums amounted to 64.45%, and the share of reinsurers – 1.60%.
Insurance premiums paid to reinsurers increased 5.17 times in the first quarter to UAH 106.327 million, which resulted in a 13.20 percentage point increase in the reinsurance participation ratio to 16.57%.
Net written premiums decreased by 9.22% to UAH 535.303 million, while earned premiums increased by 16.90% to UAH 563.796 million.
During the reporting period, the company paid out UAH 318.957 million to customers, which is 55.35% higher than the volume of insurance payments and reimbursements for the same period in 2023. The level of payments increased by 16.06 percentage points to 49.71%.
RA also notes that the profit from operating activities of VUSO Insurance Company amounted to UAH 18.111 million, and net profit increased 4.66 times to UAH 13.491 million.
As of April 1, 2024, the insurer’s assets decreased by 1.51% to UAH 1.501 billion, equity showed an increase of 2.19% to UAH 630.748 million, liabilities decreased by 4.03% to UAH 870.649 million, cash and cash equivalents – by 14.06% to UAH 479.132 million.
The RA also notes that as of the reporting date, VUSO formed a portfolio of investments in government bonds in the amount of UAH 221.735 million, which in total covered 80.50% of the company’s liabilities. The balance of funds in the insurer’s centralized insurance reserve funds (MTIBU) amounted to UAH 310.453 million, which also had a positive impact on the company’s liquidity.
VUSO Insurance Company was founded in 2001. The company holds 50 licenses: 34 – for voluntary and 16 – for compulsory types of insurance, and is represented in all regions of Ukraine. It is a member of MTIBU and USIF, a participant in the Direct Claims Settlement Agreement and a member of the Nuclear Insurance Pool.
Pokrovskoye Mine Administration (Donetsk Oblast), the largest coking coal producer in Ukraine and a part of Metinvest Group, produced 3.5 million tons of coking coal in January-August this year.
“Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the miners’ work in Pokrovsk is a real feat. We have not stopped production for a single day. Despite the circumstances, the teams are working hard and achieving significant results. Since the beginning of this year alone, we have produced over 3.5 million tons of coal and sank more than 8 km of mine workings,” said Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest, during a visit to Pokrovskoye.
As reported earlier, Pokrovskoye produced 2 million tons of coking coal in 5 months of 2014.
“Metinvest has established Metinvest Pokrovskugol, which manages the enterprises of the Pokrovske Coal Group (PGC). The company includes, among others, Pokrovskoye Mine Administration and Svyato-Varvarinskaya Concentrator.
Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostiuk defeated Briton Harriet Dart in two sets (2:0) and reached the third round of the US Open tournament, Suspilne. Sport” on Thursday.
In the first round of the competition, Kostiuk defeated American McCartney Kesser in two sets (6-2, 6-3) and reached the 1/32 finals of the US Open. The next opponent of the first Ukrainian racket was the British Harriet Dart, whom Marta had met twice before and defeated twice.
In the first set, Kostiuk lost the opening two games on her serve, making only one break in response. Dart’s advantage lasted until the tenth game, but Kostyuk managed to take the first set to a tiebreaker. Kostyuk won a break on Dart’s serve, and despite losing the next game on her own serve, she broke back to make the score 6-6.
In the tiebreaker, Kostyuk played five set points at once, three of which were at 3:6. And in the end, she took the game, realizing the third set point.
Kostyuk finished the second set with a crushing victory – 6:1. The Ukrainian gave away only one game at the very start of the game, after which she took six in a row, although only on the fourth attempt did she realize a match point.
US Open-2024. Second round: Harriet Dart (Great Britain) – Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) – 0: 2 (6: 7 (10), 1: 6)
Marta Kostiuk’s opponent in the third round of the competition will be determined in a match between the Dutch player Aranci Rous and the 12th world number one, American Emma Navarro.
Commissioning of housing in Ukraine in January-June 2024 increased by 27% compared to the same period of 2023 – up to 4 million 566.6 thousand square meters, the State Statistics Service reported.
According to the report, 2 million 421.2 thousand square meters of housing was commissioned in cities in the first half of the year, which is 24.4% higher than in the first half of last year. In rural areas, 2 million 145 thousand square meters of housing was commissioned by 10.8% more.
A total of 55 thousand apartments were commissioned in January-June, which is 24.2% more than in the first half of 2023. At the same time, 38.3 thousand apartments were commissioned in apartment buildings. In cities 34.3 thousand apartments were commissioned, in villages – 20.6 thousand.
According to the results of six months, the most housing was commissioned in Kyiv region – 958.1 thousand square meters, or 11 thousand apartments (21% of the total volume), which exceeds the figure for the same period of 2023 by 35.5%. It is followed by Lviv region – 437.5 thousand square meters, or 4.8 thousand apartments (respectively 9.6% and +23.3%); Ivano-Frankivsk region – 322.7 thousand square meters, or 3.8 thousand apartments (7.1%, +29.2%); Vinnitsa region – 274.2 thousand square meters, or 4 thousand apartments (6%, -42.7%).
In Kyiv, 628.4 thousand square meters of housing, or 9.3 thousand apartments (13.8%, +13.3%) were commissioned in the first half of the year.
According to the State Statistics Committee, the greatest growth in the volume of housing commissioned in January-June was recorded in Donetsk region, where the indicator increased six times to the same period of 2023 – up to 10.9 thousand square meters (0.2% of the total volume), as well as in Zaporizhzhya region – “plus” 488.2%, up to 25.8 thousand square meters (0.6%).
The data are given taking into account the housing commissioned in accordance with the temporary order of acceptance into operation of houses erected without a permit for construction works, as well as without taking into account the temporarily occupied territories of the Russian Federation and part of the territory where the hostilities are being / were conducted, reminds the State Statistics Committee.
As reported, according to the results of 2023 commissioning of housing in Ukraine increased by 3.8% compared to 2022 – up to 7 million 380.7 thousand square meters. m.
A court in France releases Telegram owner Pavel Durov on bail of 5 million euros. He has already left the courthouse in a car escorted by police. Durov’s detention stirred up millions of users, a wave of support for the businessman rose in Russia, and Europe and Ukraine once again started talking aloud about the messenger being a source of fakes, disinformation, and Russian narratives.
A court on Wednesday launched a formal investigation into Telegram founder Pavel Durov in an organized crime case, but he may avoid pre-trial detention if he posts bail of €5 million.
Durov has to report to the police twice a week and is banned from leaving the territory of France, Reuters reports.
As the agency explains, according to French law, the investigation does not mean that Durov is considered guilty or that he will stand trial. This decision only shows that the judges see enough grounds in the case to continue the investigation. It could last for years before it is transferred to the court for consideration on the merits, or it could be closed, Reuters explains.
Pavel Durov was detained at Paris’ Le Bourget airport on Saturday, August 24, where he arrived by private jet from Azerbaijan.
The French passport is one of the four that Durov has, according to media reports, in addition to his Russian citizenship. He left Russia back in 2014, but traveled there very often.
He founded the VKontakte network (he had to sell it), which is still the largest network in Russia and became the Russian answer to the American Facebook. Due to the threat to Ukraine’s national security, VKontakte was banned in Ukraine under President Petro Poroshenko.
According to the businessman himself, the number of users of Telegram, launched by Durov in 2013, is expected to exceed one billion worldwide by 2025. Forbes currently estimates his net worth at $15.5 billion, and Durov is ranked 122nd on the list of the world’s richest people.
On the weekend after the arrest, French law enforcement agencies did not immediately release information about the nature of the case and claims directly against the Telegram founder. Without waiting for official statements, the messenger’s representatives called attempts to blame the platform or its owner for the “abuse” of users “absurd.”
The importance that France attaches to Durov’s detention became clear when French President Emmanuel Macron made a statement on the matter, also before the national prosecutor’s office did.
He wrote in X that Durov’s arrest was “not a political decision” but part of a judicial proceeding, and that France remained committed to freedom of speech and entrepreneurship.
Only on Monday, the Paris prosecutor’s office published an official statement. It said that the case against the unnamed individuals was opened on July 8 after a preliminary investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office’s cybercrime unit.
The release listed 12 corpus delicti investigated by French investigators, including
Durov’s role was described as “complicity,” “aiding and abetting,” and “conspiracy,” but his procedural status – witness, suspect, etc. – was not specified.
In the same release, the prosecutor’s office said that Durov’s arrest had been extended for two days, until the evening of August 28, or the maximum 96 hours allowed.
On Wednesday, a few hours before the deadline, Politico wrote, citing a French document it had seen, that the case had been opened several months earlier than expected-in March, not June.
According to Politico, the investigation is related to Durov’s refusal to cooperate with French law enforcement, who requested data from the messenger about a user involved in the distribution of child pornography.
As part of this case, a search and arrest warrant was issued not only for Pavel Durov, but also for his older brother Nikolai, the co-founder of Telegram, Politico reports. Telegram did not comment on the report.
Telegram’s reputation largely rests on its founder’s refusal to cooperate with the security services and to hand over users’ personal data and encryption keys. This is done for privacy reasons.
Durov also explained this as a technical impossibility: according to him, the encryption system is designed in such a way that only the messenger users themselves have the keys.
According to Durov, pressure from security forces was one of the reasons why he was forced to sell his previous project, the VKontakte social network.
And the idea of creating a secure messenger – what later became Telegram – came to him during searches, he said in a recent interview with conservative American TV host Tucker Carlson.
Telegram’s privacy policy mentions one ground for disclosing user data (clause 8.3): “In the event of a court request regarding a terrorist suspect, we may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant services… but so far there have been no such cases.”
The flip side of such anonymity and security is the possibility of using the messenger by malicious actors, abusing freedom of expression to the detriment of security.
This is how law enforcement and authorities in different countries often explain the need to tighten control over the platform, but there are also supporters of this view among ordinary netizens.
This opposition – the value of freedom versus the value of security – is the basis for the discussion that has unfolded on social media between those who consider the claims of French law enforcement against Durov to be repression and those who believe their actions are justified.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c703ll143d7o.amp
On August 28, the XVII Paralympic Summer Games 2024 will start. These Games will be the first time Paris will host the Paralympic Games and the second time France will host the Paralympic Games (the cities of Tignes and Albertville co-hosted the 1992 Winter Paralympic Games).
In total, 140 athletes from Ukraine will compete in 17 out of 22 sports, which is a record. Ukraine will be most represented in swimming (37 athletes) and athletics (28).
The Paralympics 2024 will be broadcast live on Suspilne.Sport. The opening ceremony will start at 20:30.
Later, live broadcasts of the competition will be available on the Suspilne.Sport website, as well as on Suspilne’s regional TV channels, which are available on cable operators’ networks, Megogo media service, Diia app and T2 digital broadcast. Also, the 2024 Paralympics will be shown on Pervyi TV channel.
As reported by OBOZ.UA, 143 athletes in 15 sports represented Ukraine at the last Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Most of our compatriots performed in swimming (40) and athletics (32). Our team finished in sixth place with 98 medals (24 gold, 47 silver and 27 bronze).
At the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Ukraine was in the top 3 in the medal standings, behind only China and Great Britain.