The Ukrainian aircraft project for Mars, Mars Hopper, entered the top three of the Audience Award of the World Development Forum NASA SpaceApps Challenge.

According to information on the SpaceApps Challenge website, as of Monday at 20:00 (Kiev time) the project scored 8,809 votes. However, the voting is still ongoing and after registration anyone may vote up until May 20th at 5:00 (UTC+4).

The leader right now is the Martian Oasis project from Bangladesh (9,940 votes). Second place is …

Russia and Belarus have agreed on a joint response to the deployment of NATO missile defense systems near their borders. This was said by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei. DW reports that he made these statements after meeting with the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov.

“Because we are a union state[with Russia], we have agreed that we will jointly develop adequate response measures,” Makei said.

Moscow and Minsk are planning to work closely …

NATO’s Brilliant Jump 2016 exercises began in Poland on Tuesday, Radio Polsha reported. 1,500 soldiers of the Polish, Spanish, and British armed forces will participate in the ten-day exercise in Lubusz in western Poland.

The maneuvers will take place under the Dutch Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum.

Brilliant Jump will focus on quickly transporting personnel and military equipment to areas of potential threat, which will help Poland to develop its own immediate reaction forces.

A similar …

According to international research organizations, the amount of Ukrainian money invested or kept off shore ranges from $117 billion to $167 billion. Doctor of Economic Sciences Sergey Korablin reports in the Ukrainian edition Zerkalo Nedeli that the total is equal to approximately double the country’s gross domestic product.

Annual losses of Ukraine from offshore operations amounted to $11 billion to $12 billion. That is equal to the loans that were provided to the country through the two …

On the 15th of May, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Oleksandr Danylyuk, stated live on Inter TV that the Ministry expects a positive decision from the International Monetary Fund Board of Directors concerning the provision of the next loan to Ukraine. Danylyuk noted that the primary task now is negotiating the text of the Memorandum.

“Now, the main task is to agree on a new version of the Memorandum. When this happens, the meeting of the IMF Board of Directors will be held and I’m sure …

The Defense Ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey have agreed to hold joint military exercises in order to increase the combat readiness of their armed forces. This was said by the Head of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov.

“We are in favor of conducting trilateral military exercises with the aim of raising the level of combat readiness of our armed forces. We also hope to establish cooperation in the field of military education, to develop cooperation in …

NATO should not adhere to the agreement between Russia and NATO, believes the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Witold Waszczykowski.

"This document is a political commitment; it is not legally binding,” said the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry in Tallinn at the Lennart Meri Conference. “I do not think that we should implement this treaty."

He reminded that the treaty was signed in 1997, but the situation with Russia has changed since then. The promises were made by the NATO of that …

Only Russian performers who “understand that the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of the Donbas is a crime” should be allowed to participate in the Eurovision contest in 2017, according to a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the Narodny Front, Anton Herashchenko. He said this on the 15th of May while at the Govorit Moskva radio station.

According to him, Kiev “does not see any obstacles” for contestants who “do not speak out in support of Russia’s aggressive policies” and who “do not …