The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) welcomes the recent White House announcement of Vice President Joe Biden's upcoming trip to Ukraine at the end of July 2009. His discussions in Ukraine would prove fruitful for enhancing the bilateral dialogue between Ukraine and the United States.

One of the great difficulties of the Mikhail Lennikov case is the shortage of detailed information and direct evidence of exactly what he did - or didn't do - for the KGB for five years. Lennikov, of course, is the failed refugee applicant now seeking sanctuary in an East Vancouver church in defiance of a deportation order over his past employment by the KGB, the notorious spy agency and secret police of the former Soviet Union.

The Canadian Press The Canadian Press title given to Mr.Odynsky in this article is incorrect. Being Ukrainian, Wasyl Odynsky, could not have been "a former SS guard" - only Germans could belong to the SS. OTTAWA -- The Federal Court of Canada has rejected a Jewish group's attempt to revoke the citizenship of a former Nazi guard, saying the decision to allow the man to stay in Canada was reasonable and in keeping with the Charter of Rights.

A Jewish-Canadian author is in a battle of words with the Canadian Jewish Congress after alleging the organization props up neo-nazi groups to get "hate crime" legislation passed and expand the role of the country's Human Rights Commission. Neo-conservative author Ezra Levant claims in his latest book, Shakedown, that the Canadian Jewish Congress hired ex-cop John Garrity to work for the Canadian Nazi Party in the 1960's. In 1965 and 1966, Garrity was put in charge of membership for the group and organized the dozen or so "rag-tag band of losers" into an outfit that garned a lot of press coverage.

by Vladimir Socor Lukashenka has clashed with Moscow over economic issues during most of his tenure as president. This time, however, he reinforces his arguments in that debate by refusing to cooperate with a Kremlin-cherished project on international security. Moreover, the familiar clashes over economic issues are now unfolding in an entirely new context: that of Lukashenka's efforts to institute a balanced foreign policy for Belarus between Russia and the West.

Victor Smorgon, one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs and the former head of one of the country's most diverse industrial groups, has died. Mr Smorgon, 96, was the head of the Victor Smorgon Group, a spinoff from the original Smorgon Consolidated Industries which began as a kosher butcher shop in Carlton and expanded into areas ranging from meat exporting to plastics, glass, steel and recycling.

Taras Kuzio

For Ukraine group leader Vyacheslav Kyrylenko told Channel 5 television on April 10 that Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has chosen former Parliament Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk as his successor. It remains unclear if Yatsenyuk has gotten round to sending a "thank you" to the president for his endorsement.

A preliminary, and possibly premature, report of the 18-day Russian-Ukrainian "Gas War" of January 2009 might read as follows: This war should never have taken place. The conflict had little to do with the commercial disagreements between "Gazprom" and "Naftohaz Ukrainy"these were resolved by the "Memorandum of Agreement" signed on October 2, 2008, by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko.

Challenges Chicagoans to Protect Children; Announces more funding for summer jobs for youth and summer parks programs, and a new CPS program aimed at easing the transition to high school for 8th graders

Mayor Richard M. Daley used his annual City of Chicago address to confront the city's challenges: gun violence, especially against children; a national economy in recession and a school system that is progressing but needs to redouble its efforts to keep student achievement going.

With more than half-a -million new square-feet of green roofs installed in 2007, Chicago leads in becoming the greenest City in America. "Cities are no longer the enemies of the natural environment," says Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley of the news.

TORONTO, CANADA - With nearly 517,633 new square-feet of green roofs installed in 2007, Chicago is once again No. 1 on this year's Top 10 List of Best U.S. Green Roof Cities from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities' 3rd Annual Green Roof Market Industry Survey of corporate members. This is the fourth consecutive year in a row that Chicago has come in the top spot in the annual survey. The city beats out Wilmington, DE (No. 2 on the list) by more than 300 thousand square feet.

Steps Can Save Millions of Dollars, Improve Delivery of Services

Mayor Richard M. Daley announced today the city will implement a series of steps recommended by his "21^st Century Commission" aimed at better managing government and reducing spending.

Included among the proposals, which Daley said he has asked his senior staff to put in place, are: offering rewards to employees who generate ideas that improve services or generate new revenue; ...

Parkside of Old Town Provides Mix of Public, Affordable and Market Rate Housing

Mayor Richard M. Daley, joined by U.S. Senator Richard Durbin and Chicago Housing Authority officials, today dedicated Parkside of Old Town, a mixed income community that represents the first replacement housing to be built directly on the site of the former Cabrini Extension North high-rise buildings on the city's Near North Side.