542 people received the status of a foreign Ukrainian
As reported by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Nikolai Maimeskul, 542 people received the status of a foreign Ukrainian. According to him, this decision was made at the first meeting of the national commission on foreign Ukrainians, which took place last week.
Applications from citizens of 35 countries were considered. “The commission considered 546 appeals from citizens of other countries who believe they can obtain the status of a foreign Ukrainian,” said Nikolai Maimeskul. According to him, the commission refused two citizens such status, and two more applications were postponed for consideration at a later date.
A representative of the foreign policy agency said that in the near future, 542 people whose cases have been resolved positively will receive certificates of a foreign Ukrainian. This certificate gives the right to multiple free entry into Ukraine for 5 years without invitations. In fact, these are free visas.
The Deputy Minister also informed that the commission will meet at least once every three months. According to him, under the law, the status of a foreign Ukrainian can be granted to a person who is a citizen of another state or a stateless person and also has Ukrainian ethnic origin.
Poles positively assess Poland's membership in the European Union
Two-thirds of Poles have a positive assessment of Poland's membership in the European Union. This is evidenced by the results of a recent survey conducted by the research center TNS OBOP.
Positive answers to this question were given by 67% of respondents. Only 6% assessed Poland's EU membership negatively, and 23% of respondents did not give a clear answer. As sociologists note, the percentage of public support for Poland's participation in the EU is now record high. Poles have begun to view more positively the potential that emerged after the EU enlargement: the opportunity to get a better education and a well-paid job.
More than half of Poles noted the positive influence of Poland's EU membership on Warsaw's international position. During the study, based on a representative sample nationwide, 1,005 people over 15 years old were surveyed.
Slovenia may switch to the euro as early as next year
The authorities of Slovenia stated that the country is ready to switch to the euro as early as 2007. At a press conference in Ljubljana, it was noted that Slovenia is the undisputed leader among the countries that recently joined the EU. It has already fulfilled all the conditions necessary to switch to the European currency next year.
Slovenia joined the EU 13 years after declaring independence. Today it is the only country meeting the Maastricht criteria, which set the necessary macroeconomic indicators for countries seeking to join the eurozone.
Let us recall that in addition to Slovenia, Lithuania and Estonia also intend to switch to the euro in 2007 - the corresponding agreement has been signed with the European Commission. According to the document, the European Commission will finance national programs to inform these countries about all aspects of the upcoming transition to the euro.
Russia's Supreme Court recognized the Soviet passport as a document
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the USSR passport as a valid document and ordered that it be accepted everywhere as an identity document. At the same time, the judges also supported the position of the government and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which state that citizens are obliged to have a Russian-style passport. Thus, every Russian must obtain one, even if they constantly use a Soviet passport.
The court decision was made in response to a complaint from Muscovite Artur Korkovidov. He challenged the Regulation on the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, which requires all citizens who have reached the age of fourteen to obtain the document. Korkovidov considered that in the absence of an appropriate federal law, this regulation is invalid.
The judges, having considered the case, recognized that Russian citizens are indeed not obliged to replace Soviet passports with Russian ones, and they should remain valid until the State Duma adopts a law on the main identity document.
A significant number of citizens have not received the new Russian passport. Some refused to obtain it for religious reasons, believing that the patterns on its pages are 'satanic signs.' A number of Russians were unhappy with the absence of a 'nationality' field in the new document.
Russian-style passports were introduced by a decree of Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1997 and gradually replaced Soviet ones until July 1, 2004. From that time until the current Supreme Court decision, the USSR passport was considered invalid.
Britons 'accidentally' released a thousand foreign criminals
The British Home Secretary apologized to society for his subordinates 'by mistake' releasing over a thousand foreign criminals, including nine rapists and three murderers. Charles Clarke has already promised that all those released will be found and deported from the country.
Criminals who should have been deported from Britain by law were simply released from February 1999 to March 2006 due to oversight by various police services.
The cause of the incident is said to be that during release from prisons, the nationality of former prisoners was either not checked, or was done in a hurry and extremely carelessly. British police have already reported that the situation has been fully corrected and that this will not happen again.
To date, only a little more than a hundred foreign criminals who served time in British prisons have been found. Some of them have already been deported to their homeland.
Three airlines offer to combine fares
Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS have introduced the possibility of combining fares with each other. Thus, passengers will have the opportunity to travel, for example, to Madrid on Lufthansa flights with a transfer in Frankfurt or Munich, and return on SWISS flights with a transfer in Geneva. Or fly to New York on SWISS flights via Zurich, and return on Austrian Airlines flights via Vienna.
This will allow passengers to choose among a greater number of flights without increasing the cost of the flight. The possibility of combining came into effect on May 1. Combination of fares of other Star Alliance airlines will also be possible, but only within Europe. All fares are included in booking systems, which implies automatic calculation of combinations. In case of combining fares with different conditions, restrictions under the strictest fare apply to the entire ticket.
In Riga, tipsy tourists will be introduced to prohibitions
One of the resolutions of the Riga City Council particularly outrages citizens: it is the ban on drinking alcoholic beverages in public places. Violators are fined and an administrative protocol is drawn up.
However, in some cases ignorance of the law may relieve responsibility, reports Business & Baltia. As stated by the head of the Riga Municipal Police Janis Gedushev, tourists will not be fined for non-compliance with this rule. Instead, tipsy foreigners will be introduced to the ban unknown to them.
Based on materials from news agencies.