Ukraine remains in the top 30 states with the strongest passports: its citizens can visit 146 countries without visas or with visas on arrival, according to an updated rating of national passports by Henley&Partners.
The first place in the ranking is occupied by Singapore, its citizens can visit 192 countries without a visa. The second place is shared by Germany, Italy and Spain, citizens of these countries can visit 190 countries. In third place are Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea and Sweden (189 countries). Also in the top 5 are Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, UK (188 countries) and Belgium, Czech Republic, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland (187 countries).
Sixth place went to Australia, Hungary and Poland, citizens of these countries can travel visa-free to 186 countries. In seventh place were Canada and Greece, from where you can travel to 185 countries.
The United States and Lithuania ranked eighth (184 countries), followed by Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia (183). Estonia and Iceland round out the top ten, citizens of these countries can travel to 182 countries without visas.
Ukraine in this ranking shares 30th place (146 countries) with two countries – Grenada and St. Lucia.
The last place in the ranking belongs to Afghanistan: citizens of this country can visit only 27 countries without a visa. Iraq (29) and Syria (30) have slightly higher positions.
The Henley&Partners Passport Index is an international ranking of countries by the level of freedom of movement they provide to their citizens. The index analyzes the visa regulations of more than 200 countries and territories and ranks them by the number of visa-free countries. A country’s position in the ranking is determined by the number of countries in the world to which its citizens can enter without prior visa processing or by obtaining a visa on arrival.
In May 2023, Ukrainian banks issued 232 mortgage loans totaling UAH 322.5 million, while in April – 41 for UAH 50.1 million, according to the results of a monthly survey by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
According to the regulator, this growth was due to the resumption of preferential lending under the eHouse program.
This also led to a decline in the weighted average effective interest rate on mortgage loans in May to 8.05% per annum from 14.6% in April.
At the same time, loans are mostly issued for purchases on the secondary real estate market: in May, one loan for UAH 0.73 million was issued on the primary market, compared to two loans for UAH 1.78 million in April.
The NBU clarified that out of the 26 banks surveyed, only four financial institutions issued mortgage loans in July, as they did a month earlier.
The survey data show that more than half of all loans in May were issued in Kyiv and Kyiv region – 103 agreements for UAH 164.4 million (51% of the total), followed by Poltava region with a large margin – 11 agreements for UAH 12.6 million (3.9% of the total).
10 loans each were issued in Chernihiv (UAH 10.4 million), Rivne (UAH 13.4 million) and Vinnytsia (UAH 15.4 million) regions.
Real GDP percentage changes over previous period in 2014-2022
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The former chairman of the SBU Ivan Bakanov received a lawyer’s certificate on June 27, 2023 in the Council of lawyers of Poltava region.
The record about it is made in the Register of lawyers, posted on the website of the National Bar Association.
The Verkhovna Rada dismissed him from the post of Chairman of the SBU exactly one year ago – July 19, 2022.
Source: Bakanov Ivan Gennadiyovych Є One Register of Lawyers of Ukraine (unba.org.ua)
In June 2023, TAS Insurance Group (Kyiv) collected UAH 309.18 million in payments, which is 46.9% more than the amount of premiums raised in June 2022, according to its website.
It is noted that almost a quarter of the insurer’s revenues for the reporting period – 23.37% – came from hull insurance, which collected UAH 72.25 million in payments (+17.3%).
The company’s revenues from MOTPL policies increased by 33.1% to UAH 107.91 million in payments and accounted for 34.9% of the total premiums collected in the month. Under the Green Card, the company attracted UAH 82.35 million in payments, which is 26.63% of the total proceeds of the insurer for the reporting period and 74.8% higher than in June last year.
In turn, the share of VHI in the company’s revenue portfolio amounted to 5.29%, or UAH 16.36 million of insurance premiums in June 2023. Property insurance contracts amounted to UAH 4.13 million (+22.2%).
The company’s revenues from other insurance contracts amounted to UAH 26.18 million in June.
Abnormal heat continues to inconvenience residents of several southern European countries, particularly Spain and Italy, European media reported on Wednesday.
Temperatures in Sicily approached 47 degrees Celsius during the day, with the highest temperatures recorded in Agrigento and Trapani. The island’s health services report a 20% increase in the number of citizens’ visits to hospitals.
In at least 20 cities in Italy continues to operate introduced by the authorities of the heightened level of danger due to the heat wave. We are talking, including Rome, Florence and Bologna. Italian Health Minister Orazio Scilacci urged residents and tourists to be extra vigilant and avoid staying in direct sunlight from 11:00 to 18:00. Meanwhile, Rome is experiencing power outages amid a surge in the use of air conditioners.
Spanish meteorological services on Wednesday reported that the average temperature of coastal waters broke the record for this time of year. Thus, the water warmed to an average of 24.6 degrees Celsius, 2.2 degrees higher than the average for this time. In some parts, the water temperature exceeded 28 degrees Celsius.
The situation is difficult in Greece and Cyprus. Greek forecasters are recording peaks of 39 degrees Celsius in the east of the country and 41 degrees in the west. In addition, Athens is expecting 43 degrees Celsius by the weekend. In Cyprus, temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius are being recorded, with the situation forecast to worsen on Friday and Saturday, which is expected to be even hotter.
In Greece, natural fires continue to spread amid the 40-degree heat wave. Hundreds of people have been evacuated. Firefighters from other countries, including Poland, Romania and Slovakia, are involved in the fight against the fire.
On the eve in a number of regions in the south-east of France recorded temperature records. In the department of Ariège the air warmed up to 40.6 degrees Celsius for the first time in the history of meteorological observations. Record temperature was also recorded in Renno in Corsica – 38.3 degrees Celsius.
In addition, the water in the Mediterranean Sea near Nice warmed to 29.2 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded in the region.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned the day before that temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius will last in many parts of the world for several days.
