KIEV, July 18 - The World Bank on Friday revised upwards Ukraine's 2008 inflation forecast to 21.5%, up from 17%, in a further sign that the government’s forecast of 15.9% was too optimistic.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been insisting that Ukraine’s inflation will not exceed 15.9% even as consumer prices rose 15.5% in January through June.

MOSCOW, July 18 – Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko called her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss trade and economic relations, Putin’s spokesman reported.

“Putin and Tymoshenko discussed various aspects of bilateral trade and economic cooperation,” Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman, said, according to Itar-Tass, the state-owned news agency.

MOSCOW, July 18 – Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Friday it was concerned over joint NATO-Ukraine naval exercises in the Black Sea, its first such complaint the in many years the annual Sea Breeze exercises have been running.

KIEV, July 19 - The Ukrainian government at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday considered and sent for elaboration of a draft resolution on the management of corporate rights in UkrTatNafta transnational financial and industrial oil company (the Kremenchuk oil refinery in Poltava region), which foresees a transfer of the whole Ukrainian stake in the company to the cabinet, Economy Minister Anatoliy Kinakh has told the press.

KIEV, July 19 - Ukraine on Thursday suspended all shipments of yellow phosphorus in reaction to the train crash on Monday that produced a toxic cloud in western Ukraine threatening 11,000 people, an official said.

KIEV, July 19 - At least 143 people have been hospitalized in Ukraine for symptoms blamed on a toxic cloud formed by chemicals leaking from a crashed train near Lviv, the Healthcare Ministry reported Thursday.

KIEV, July 20 - The Regions Party, a pro-Russian group that seeks to appoint the prime minister and most of the government, Thursday attacked the 2006 budget as a ???catastrophe??? and pledged to change it quickly.

KIEV, July 20 - Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the second largest group in Parliament, pledged to create a single bloc of pro-Western parties to defeat pro-Russian Regions Party in the event of an early election.

KIEV, July 20 - President Viktor Yushchenko will probably take two weeks to decide on nomination of Viktor Yanukovych, the leader of pro-Russian Regions Party, for the post of the prime minister, Yushchenko??™s spokeswoman said Thursday.

KIEV, July 20 - President Viktor Yushchenko has rejected the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Roman Bezsmertny, Iryna Heraschenko, spokesperson for the president, reported on Tuesday, according to Interfax-Ukraine.