Ukraine switched to winter time on October 29 at 4:00 a.m. Clocks were set back one hour.
The switch to winter time is carried out in accordance with Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 509 “On the Procedure for Calculating Time in Ukraine” of 1996, but has been historically practiced in the country since 1981.
The prerequisites for this transition are considered to be the lengthening of daylight hours and certain energy savings. Recently, however, there have been discussions about the feasibility of such a transition, as it can lead to a disruption of circadian rhythms.
Daylight saving time (DST) is practiced twice a year in about 70 countries, including the European Union.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Yuriy Dyudin as Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Chile.
The relevant decree was published on the President’s website on October 27.
In addition, the President dismissed Serhiy Shutenko from the post of Ambassador of Ukraine to Greece and Yevhen Tsymbalyuk from the post of Permanent Representative of Ukraine to International Organizations in Vienna.
The decrees were signed on October 27.
The FATF (Financial Action Task Force) at its plenary session on October 25-27 in Paris once again ignored Ukraine’s call to include Russia in the list of high-risk jurisdictions – the so-called “black list”.
“The suspension of Russia’s membership remains in force. Following the statements issued since March 2022, the FATF reiterates that all jurisdictions should be vigilant about the ongoing risks associated with circumventing measures taken against the Russian Federation to protect the international financial system,” the final communiqué reiterates the organization’s position on Russia.
The FATF has also updated the “gray” list of countries that are under enhanced monitoring for money laundering and terrorist financing.
The organization removed Albania, Cayman Islands, Jordan and Panama from the gray list and added Bulgaria to it.
The list also includes Barbados, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Gibraltar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Jamaica, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, the Philippines and South Africa.
At the same time, the FATF left the blacklist unchanged. It includes countries that require countermeasures, such as the DPRK and Iran, and countries that require enhanced due diligence commensurate with the risks (Myanmar).
Among the main outcomes of the plenary session, the FATF agreed to publish a key report on crowdfunding for terrorist financing. Members also agreed to amend FATF Recommendation 8 to clarify the measures applicable to NPOs. The FATF will also scale up its work on criminalizing terrorist financing in countries (Recommendation 5).
FATF members recognized the need for full and effective implementation of the FATF Standards in all jurisdictions. This includes the analysis and exchange of financial information on terrorist financing networks, as well as the use of financial and law enforcement tools, such as financial sanctions and confiscation, to cut off terrorists from their sources of revenue and weaken the infrastructure that these groups need to achieve their destructive goals. This also includes the designation of identified terrorists and terrorist groups in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
In an important milestone, the press release notes, delegates also agreed on a significant set of amendments to the FATF Recommendations that will provide countries with a much more powerful toolkit of measures to deprive criminals of the proceeds of crime. To further improve global asset recovery efforts, the FATF also published a report that sets out recommendations for strengthening the role and use of Asset Recovery and Investigation Networks (ARINs) in investigating transnational money laundering cases.
The FATF also approved reports on illicit financial flows resulting from cyberspace fraud and the misuse of citizenship and residence permits through investment programs, the report said.
Following recent amendments to the beneficial ownership and transparency standards, delegates also agreed to release for public comment an updated risk-based FATF Guidance on Recommendation 25 on beneficial ownership and transparency of legal arrangements.
Ukraine’s GlobalLogic, an IT company of the Hitachi Group, plans to open a mini-office in Odesa in a few days, which will be the company’s 11th mini-office in Ukraine, the company’s press service said on Friday.
“The specialists have shelter, stable communication, food and comfortable conditions for cooperation. According to their colleagues, they are happy to come to the mini-offices and meet each other live. This is especially important in these difficult times,” said Anna Shcherbakova, Vice President and COO of GlobalLogic.
It is specified that mini-offices are currently operating in Ivano-Frankivsk (2 offices), Vinnytsia, Rivne, Ternopil, Uzhhorod and Khmelnytskyi (opened last year), as well as in Chernivtsi, Poltava and Dnipro (opened in 2023).
It is noted that some of the mini-offices were closed during the summer season, but on the eve of winter, the company reopened additional hubs.
“As a result, more than 500 specialists who live in cities without permanent offices of the company have received stable access to electricity and the Internet,” GlobalLogic said in a statement.
In addition, the main offices in Lviv (2 locations) and Kyiv are operating in normal mode, and in Mykolaiv and Kharkiv – in a limited mode.
IT company GlobalLogic Ukraine is the largest software developer in Ukraine. It has offices and more than 6.5 thousand employees in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Mykolaiv. GlobalLogic is headquartered in the Silicon Valley of the United States.
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has sent more than 10 intermodal trains to the Polish ports of Gdansk and Gdynia, Valery Tkachev, deputy director of UZ’s commercial work department, said at a meeting with grain market participants on Thursday.
“The containers were mainly used to transport grain cargo and milling products. The transportation was carried out as part of the Intermodal Train service. Such trains follow a strict schedule and have convenient connections at the Ukrainian-Polish border,” he explained.
According to him, the trains departed from Odesa-Liski, Dnipro-Liski and Vinnytsia stations. The operator of the transportation through Ukraine was the Liski Transport Service Center branch of Ukrzaliznytsia, and UZ Cargo Poland in Poland.
UZ also said that it is considering launching the train from Kyiv as well as from other stations if the shipper orders the service regularly.
agricultural goods, intermodal trains, Polish ports, UKRZALIZNYTSIA
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved attracting $1.2 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to support the social sector, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“Today we are making a decision that will allow us to attract $1.2 billion from the World Bank Group (IBRD) to support the social sector,” Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Friday.
According to him, these are funds under the guarantees of the Japanese government, which Ukraine will use for social protection of Ukrainian families and children, social protection of people with disabilities and other important social programs.
