President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky commends the adoption of the law “On democracy through the nationwide referendum” (draft law No. 3612) by the Verkhovna Rada, the presidential press service reported.
“Now Ukrainians will be involved in practice in making important decisions for the country, and the government will be forced to listen to the will of the people. The referendum is an important tool for expanding democracy in Ukraine,” the President stressed.
Zelensky noted that the adoption of the relevant law was one of the important points of his election campaign during the presidential elections, as the document makes the dialogue between the government and society clearer.
It has been determined that the following issues cannot be the subject of the nationwide referendum:
– those contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine, generally recognized principles and norms of international law, enshrined primarily in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, protocols thereto;
– those abolishing or restricting the constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen and guarantees of their realization;
– those aimed at eliminating the independence of Ukraine, violating the state sovereignty, territorial integrity of Ukraine, creating a threat to the national security of Ukraine, inciting interethnic, racial, religious hatred;
– those related to taxes, budget, amnesty;
– those referred by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine to the jurisdiction of the law enforcement agencies, the prosecutor’s office or the court.
KSG Agro agricultural holding has agreed on possible cooperation with Swiss Suisag in terms of purchasing and using Suisag genetics sows and providing advice on pig breeding technologies, the holding said.
“The parties set indicative deadlines for signing relevant documents׃ memorandum and contracts. This should happen in the first half of 2021,” according to a press release following the visit of Suisag CFO Matteo Aepril and Chief Veterinarian Stefanie Klausmann to Ukraine.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of KSG Agro Serhiy Kasianov also said that the holding’s pig farm in Nyva Trudova (Dnipropetrovsk region) has started the process of renewal and rejuvenation of the pig herd and about 1,000 sows of Danish Dunbred genetics will be purchased under the project in 2021.
The vertically integrated holding KSG Agro is engaged in pig breeding and production, storage, processing and sale of grain and oilseeds. In January-September 2020, the agricultural holding received $4.77 million in net profit, which is 52% less than in the same period in 2019, and revenue decreased by 17%, to $14.67 million.
Structure of export of services for 9 months of 2020 (graphically).
The Ministry of Economy and grain market participants have agreed on a maximum corn export volume for the 2020/2021 marketing year (MY) in the amount of 24 million tonnes and will amend the annex to the memorandum of understanding between the grain market participants, the ministry said in a statement following a meeting held on January 25.
“Now, according to the regions, the projected corn production is 30.3 million tonnes, which is one of the best corn yields in all years. The Ministry of Economy believes that there are no problems with exporting corn to foreign markets or a probable shortage of this crop in the domestic market,” Economy Minister Ihor Petrashko said.
The report indicates that, if necessary, the parties agreed to revise the approved maximum amount of corn allowed for export, after the publication of official statistics on crop production in 2020.
As reported, the associations of poultry and livestock breeders initiated the restriction of corn exports at the level of 22 million tonnes in 2020/2021 MY in the “grain” memorandum. They argue their proposal to limit exports by the need to guarantee the domestic market 7.5 million tonnes of corn for production of animal feed.
The Ukrainian Grain Association considers the volume of corn exports at the level of 24 million tonnes acceptable for the market participants and corresponding to their forecasts of the harvest of this crop, acting executive director of the association Serhiy Ivaschenko told Interfax-Ukraine. Earlier, the association opposed the restriction of corn exports at the level of 22 million tonnes, since, in its opinion, the real goal of the initiators of the restrictions was to create an artificial surplus in the domestic grain market to reduce prices.
One of the members of the American Chamber of Commerce told Interfax-Ukraine that the association discussed the possibility of limiting corn exports before making a final decision and agreed that there was no urgent need for it, but if such a limitation is introduced, then it should be set at the level of 24 million tonnes, but not 22 million tonnes as suggested by its initiators.
SkyUp (Kyiv) is launching a campaign to recruit new aircrews.
As reported on the airline’s website on Monday, such vacancies are currently open: aircraft commanders, co-pilots and flight attendants.
“Aviation industry is now passing through hard times. However, we understand that this period will not last forever, and therefore we strive to find the best specialists in our team […] However, in current conditions, this process will be long, but we are preparing in advance: in 2021 we start with the selection of talents in order to be ready to restore the airline’s full-fledged work in the future,” SkyUp CEO Dmytro Seroukhov said.
Personnel recruitment is carried out in the SkyUp principal regions: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Lviv.
The company provides its employees with medical insurance, training at a corporate university and the opportunity to attend external trainings, discounts on tour operator’s offers, high-level hotel accommodation and three meals a day on business trips as well as service tickets.
SkyUp LLC was registered in Kyiv in June 2016. The founder is ACS-Ukraine LLC of Tetiana and Yuriy Alba, who also own the JoinUp! tour operator.
The European Union has approved a humanitarian budget of EUR 1.4 billion, of which EUR 28 million will be allocated to finance projects to overcome the crisis caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and climate change in Ukraine, the Western Balkans and the Caucasus. The relevant information was circulated by the European Commission in Brussels on Tuesday. “As global humanitarian needs worsen further due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and the effects of climate change, the European Commission has adopted its initial annual humanitarian budget of EUR 1.4 billion for 2021. This represents an increase of more than 60% compared with the initial humanitarian budget of EUR 900 million adopted last year,” the commission said in a press release.
In addition, EUR 505 million will be allocated to Africa to support people affected by the long-term Lake Chad Basin crisis, impacting Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad; those suffering from food and nutrition crisis, worsened by security incidents and community conflicts, in the Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger); and those displaced by armed conflicts in South Sudan, Central African Republic and Horn Of Africa (Somalia and Ethiopia).
Some EUR 385 million of EU humanitarian funding will be allocated to the needs in the Middle East and Turkey to help those affected by the Syria regional crisis, as well as the extremely severe situation in Yemen. Some EUR 180 million in humanitarian assistance will continue to help the most vulnerable populations in Asia and Latin America. In Latin America, this includes those affected by the crises in Venezuela and Colombia.
“The European Union will also continue to provide help in Asian countries such as Afghanistan, where the conflict has been qualified as one of the deadliest conflicts worldwide, and Bangladesh, which is currently hosting almost one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. The EU will also allocate EUR 28 million to fund projects addressing crises in Ukraine, Western Balkans and the Caucasus,” the commission said in the statement.
The rest of the funding, EUR 302 million, will be used for EU humanitarian air services and for unforeseen humanitarian crises or sudden peaks in existing crises.
