One of the highlights of Ukraine Fashion Week came at the weekend with a showcase of vintage national costumes:
Designers put old-fashioned clothing on the catwalk at a Ukrainian Fashion Week event in Kyiv on October 18. As part of a project called "Vytoky," or "Roots," models displayed vintage folk costumes and jewelry from across Ukraine. The dresses and accessories, some dating back to the 19th century, were borrowed from museums and private collections. Fashion show organizers highlighted the important role that clothing can play in building national identity. (Serhiy Korovayniy, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
Vintage Ukrainian Fashion In The Spotlight
Here's an update from our news desk:
The ratings agency Standard and Poor's has upgraded Ukraine's credit rating from "selective default" after Kyiv managed to strike a major debt write-down deal.
The New York-based agency said on October 19 that it was raising Ukraine's foreign currency sovereign rating from "SD" to "B-/B" -- a grade defined as "highly speculative" but one that leaves the door open to future borrowing from abroad.
"The rating action follows the completion of Ukraine's distressed debt exchange on October 14," Standard and Poor's said in a statement.
The ratings agency downgraded Ukraine to selective default on September 25.
Ukraine was then still negotiating with its commercial creditors aimed at easing its outsized debt burden and keeping on track a life-support package led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
(AFP, Interfax)
We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow morning, you can keep up with all our ongoing Ukraine coverage here.
Good morning. We'll get the live blog rolling today with a couple of overnight tweets that caught our eye:
Mikheil Saakashvili's appointment of Yulia Marushevska as Odesa's new customs boss has been making waves. Here's the New Zealand Herald's take on things:
The new head of customs at one of Europe's most notoriously corrupt ports is a 26-year-old YouTube star with no experience.
Yulia Marushevska became a poster girl for last year's Ukrainian revolution after starring in a video of the street protests that ended the presidency of Viktor [Yanukovych].
She is the protege of [Odesa's] governor, Mikheil Saakashvili, who as the former president of Georgia frequently clashed with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He is driving an anti-corruption crusade in [Odesa], a big part of which is taking on the criminality rife in the Black Sea city's extremely lucrative port.
However, the appointment of Ms Marushevska to the job customs chief has opened him up to accusations of ineptitude and corruption.
Ms Marushevska has an extensive education from [Kyiv] university and Stanford in the United States, but virtually no experience in enforcement or maritime law. Her highest qualification is an arts degree.
Ukraine's President, Petro Poroshenko, has defended the appointment, but his statement almost seemed to be apologetic: "This is a modest, but very beautiful, efficient and talented woman, despite the fact that she has no training in customs.
"But she does have very good organisational skills."
Read the entire article here
