KIEV, July 25 ??“ Participants of the 36th scientific assembly of the international Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), which was held in Beijing on July 16-23, have discussed NASA's international strategy for exploring the Moon and Mars.

KIEV, July 25 - Ukraine??™s major petrochemical company KarpatNaftoKhim, formerly known as Lukor, is considering permanent shutdown and dismantling of its existing 191,000 tons/year chlorine and caustic soda (ChCS) production facilities, the company??™s press service said Tuesday.

KIEV, July 25 ??“ The British financial magazine Euromoney has named PrivatBank of Dnipropetrovsk as the best bank in Ukraine in 2005 in its Awards For Excellence 2005, the bank reported.

KIEV, July 25 ??“ Rising gasoline prices and falling steel prices, along with steep appreciation of the hryvnia in April, have mostly contributed to Ukraine??™s economic slowdown this year, President Viktor Yushchenko said Monday.

KIEV, July 25 ??“ Ukraine and Iran agreed to accelerate efforts in arranging construction of a strategic natural gas pipeline linking Iranian gas fields and consumers in Europe, Naftogaz Ukrayiny said Monday.

KIEV, July 25 ??“ TNK-BP International Holding plans to enter the European market with fuel produced by Lysychansk oil refinery in Luhansk region, Vice President of TNK-BP for processing and distribution Anthony Considine told journalists in Kiev on Friday.

KIEV, July 25 ??“ Kremenchuk oil refinery in Poltava region could refine all of the oil currently supplied to Odessa oil refinery, belonging to the Russian LUKOIL Serhiy Hlushko, chairman of UkrTatNafta, which owns the refinery, said at a board meeting of the Fuel and Energy Ministry on Thursday, Interfax-Ukraine reported Monday.

KIEV, July 25 ??“ Notwithstanding Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko??™s push for a new oil refinery, here is little point in building a new refinery in Ukraine at a time when Ukraine needs to reconstruct and upgrade its existing facilities, TNK-BP CEO German Hahn said, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

KIEV, July 25 ??“ Ukreximbank plans to place its next issue of eurobonds in September-October this year, bank CEO Viktor Kapustin told journalists in Hiroshima on Saturday.

KIEV, July 25 ??“ Hungary??™s OTO Bank Rt., the biggest credit organization in Eastern Europe in terms of capitalization, is holding talks on the purchase of an unspecified bank in Ukraine and is planning on acquisitions in Serbia and Croatia, Bloomberg reported.