Kiev - Officials at the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on Tuesday predicted the country's galloping inflation will soon slow down to a still-hefty 16 per cent annual rate, the Interfax news agency

Kiev - Ukrainian rescue workers Tuesday were still looking for at least 12 miners unaccounted for after a massive underground explosion, the Interfax news agency reported.

Kiev  - Rescuers found two miners Monday morning, though dozens remained trapped underground after a gas explosion in a coal mine in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, according to Ukranian television.

It remained unclear how many of the 35 miners survived Sunday's methane gas explosion, 1,000 metres below the surface, but voices of some survivors were heard at a depth of 700 metres, officials said.

The rescuers are racing against time amid fears of flooding in the Karl Marx mine in Yenakiyevo, 60 kilometres north-east of the regional capital Donetsk.

According to executives of the coal company Orzhonakidzeugol, the mine was lightly manned at the time of the explosion as it had been closed Saturday due to safety considerations.

Kiev  - The German low-cost airline Germanwings intends to open two new routes to the former Soviet republic Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday.

Kiev  - Thirteen Ukrainians died and six suffered serious injuries in a pair of nearly identical road accidents involving minibuses and highway maintenance lorries, the Interfax news agency reporte

Kiev  - The Ukrainian government is in discussions with a low-cost German air carrier on entrance into the former Soviet republic's passenger market, the Interfax news agency reported Monday.