The
number of officially registered unemployed is growing in Belarus. At
the beginning of February, there were 47.7K people and it is 4.4K more
than at the beginning of the year. Thus, the unemployment rate amounted
to 1.1% of the economically active population. The numbers have reached
the level of 10 years ago.
Earlier, the official unemployment rate did not exceed 1%, but in April 2015 the level was reached.
As reported by the National Statistical Committee,
for the third month in a row in the country the number of fired workers
has exceeded the number of newly employed staff. For example, in
January, 7,611 people were fired than recruited.
The most active dismissals of workers last month took place in
construction (-45%), in the real estate business (- 38.9%), financial
and insurance sector (- 36.2%), industry (- 28.3%).
At the same time more people were hired than fired in the field of
information and communication (+ 47%), in the field of art, sport, fun
and recreation (+ 30%), education (+ 24%), and in health and social
services (+ 3.9%).
Last month, in the country appeared 1,615 new jobs.
The economy employs 4 million 454.7 thousand people.
The
exposition of Belarusian and Ukrainian painters who returned from an
open air in the ATO zone has opened in the Ukrainian Embassy in Minsk.
The works of six artists are represented at the exhibition ‘Ukraine In
Our Hearts’. Ales Pushkin, Henadz Drazdou, Ales Tsyrkunou, Taras Nosar, Ales Susha and Andrus Takidang have painted modern Donets Basin.
Besides a dozen paintings, the artists brought things and shell splinters found in a destroyed school building in Peski.
EU har opphevet sanksjonene mot den hviterussiske presidenten
Aleksander Lukasjenko og en rekke av hans nærmeste støttespillere. Norge
følger etter EU i løpet av de neste dagene.
Hviterusslands president Aleksander Lukasjenko kan nå reise fritt rundt i Europa. Her sammen med sin yngste sønn Nikolaj
Foto: Alexander Zemlianichenko / Ap
Det var EUs utenrikssjef Federica Mogherina som mandag kveld opplyste
at EU nå velger å fjerne de fleste sanksjonene som er innført mot den
hviterussiske presidenten Aleksander Lukasjenko og flere av hans
medarbeidere.
– Vi er enige om at vi de siste årene har sett en del ting som vi ønsker å støtte og oppmuntre til å følge opp, sa Mogherini.
Hun understreket samtidig at hun er fullt klar over at det er mye som
gjenstår før situasjonen, i det som ofte kalles Europas siste diktatur,
er tilfredstillende.
Men dagens vedtak fra EU betyr at den hviterussiske Aleksander
Lukasjenko nå igjen kan bevege seg fritt rundt i Europa, og at det ikke
lenger er økonomiske begrensninger mot ham og 169 andre personer fra
Hviterussland innenfor EU.
Dette er en oppfølging av et midlertidig vedtak om opphevelse av sanksjoner som ble innført sist høst.
Etter det NRK kjenner til kommer Norge til å følge EU i denne saken og oppheve sanksjonene mot Lukasjenko og Hviterussland.
Det var i 2006 EU innførte de første begrensningene mot Aleksander
Lukasjenko og den politiske ledelsen i Hviterussland på grunn av
fengsling av politiske motstandere i forbindelse med presidentvalget det
året.
I 2010 ble det så innført omfattende sanksjoner, etter nye arrestasjoner av opposisjonen.
Men etter at Lukasjenko i 2015 løslot flere politiske fanger og
gjennomførte et presidentvalg som observatører kalte en liten, men klar
framgang når det gjaldt demokratiske rettigheter, sa EU at de ville
vurdere å lette på sanksjonene mot landet.
Lukasjenko som fredsmekler
EU opphever altså nå de fleste av sanksjonene, men opprettholder forbudet mot salg av våpen til Hviterussland. Forholdet mellom Hviterussland og EU har langsomt blitt bedre
de siste årene, og president Aleksander Lukasjenko har også fått
internasjonal annerkjennelse for sitt arbeid for å få til en våpenhvile
mellom partene i konflikten i Ukraina.
Samtidig har Lukasjenko foreløpig sagt nei til å opprette en russisk
flybase i Hviterussland, noe som også har blitt positivt mottatt i EU og
NATO.
Fakta om Hviterusslands president
Aleksandr Grigorjevitsj Lukasjenko (61) har vært president i Hviterussland siden 1994. Senest gjenvalgt i 2010.
Utdannet lærer og agronom. Tjenestegjorde i de sovjetiske
grensestyrkene på 1970- og 1980-tallet. Ble medlem av kommunistpartiet i
1979. Han har også vært nestformann i et kollektivbruk og direktør i et
statseid jordbrukskollektiv.
Skarpt kritisert av opposisjonen og Vesten for sitt autoritære styre. Blir kalt «Europas siste diktator».
The best photos of the participants of the solidarity action #пагоняпобач (‘pahonia is near’).
The website charter97.org publishes the best, according to
Internet users, photos of girls with “Pahonia”, which they have posted
on social networks to support the cadets of the Yastrambel Cadet
Academy.
It is to be recalled that a photo of four cadets of the
Brest Regional Cadet Academy demonstrating “Pahonia” t-shirts, which
they had put on under the uniform, appeared on the Internet on October
16. The photo was published on the page of the largest community “Maia
Kraina Belarus” in the social network Vkontakte.
Later information
appeared on the Internet that one of the cadets was expelled and
measures would be taken in relation to the others. Internet community
expressed solidarity with the students.: a campaign #пагоняпобач
(‘pahonia is near’) was launched in Belarus. Hundreds of photos with
“Pahonia” with the hashtag #пагоняпобач were posted on social networks
to support the cadets.
Later the Ministry of Education of Belarus put out a statement that the cadets would not be expelled.
New limits on goods purchased abroad are introduced in Belarus.
Soon Belarusians will be able to receive duty-free parcels for
personal use from abroad in the amount of no more than 22 euros per
month and a maximum weight of 10 kilograms.
The innovation will
affect private trips. Corresponding changes are spelled out in
Lukashenka's decree № 40 of February 11, the National Legal Internet
Portal reports.
“Customs payments are not paid in respect of goods
for personal use, sent by international mail to one physical person,
located on the territory of the republic, within a calendar month, and
(or) or imported into the country to one addressee as goods delivered by
the carrier within a calendar month, if the customs value of such goods
does not exceed an amount equivalent to 22 euros as a whole, and the
total weight does not exceed 10 kilograms in bulk,”– the National legal
Internet portal informs.
Also, now the Belarusians who cross the
border more than once in three months and import goods worth more than
300 euros, or weighing more than 20 kilograms, are also have to pay
customs duty.
– According to the study, which was carried out by
the State Customs Committee and the National Statistical Committee last
year, more than 70% of citizens who left the Republic of Belarus
imported goods worth up to € 300, – Deputy Chairman of the Customs
Committee Uladzimir Arlouski substantiates the innovation on air
of the TV channel Belarus 1. – In the European Union the limit of import
of goods by road and rail border crossing amounts to 300 euros.
Therefore, the limit spelled out in the decree is even softer. As it is
300 euros regardless of frequency of visits in the European Union.
The decree comes into force in two months after its official publication, tut.by notes.
Today
Belarusians can get duty-free parcels for personal use from abroad in
the amount of no more than 200 euros per month (regardless of the number
of purchases). If the limit is exceeded, one has to pay 30% of the
excess amount. This limit amounts to 1000 euros and 31 kg per month in
Russia.
The fact that purchases of the Belarusians in foreign
online stores were planned to put to rights, was stated by Minister of
Trade Valiantsin Chakanau in March 2015. Later this information was confirmed by chairman of the Council of the Republic Mikhail Miasnikovich.
In
November last year the EAEC countries were considering the issue of
imposing a tax on purchases in foreign online stores. One of the options
offered by the Eurasian Economic Commission was to introduce a fee of
15 euros on all parcels from abroad which were more expensive than 22
euros and 1 kilogram heavier. But later the idea to introduce a tax was
declined.
Back in late January, chairman of the State Customs Committee of Belarus Yury Sianko
announced that the Belarusian Customs did not consider it necessary to
impose restrictions on receiving parcels for personal use from abroad.
Although in December 2015 the official said that Belarus may impose new
limits on such parcels. Among the options of the limits, which were
under consideration, there was restriction of online purchases abroad
amounted to 200 euros per year, as well as introduction of new limits on
the weight of parcels.
As noted by the State Customs Committee,
the number of parcels with goods from abroad to Belarus almost doubled
in 2015. For example, the number of Belarusian users, who paid for
online purchases through Yandeks.Kassa on Chinese online sites, has
increased in 2,5 times over the last year.
Young Front, a Belarusian youth organization, has set up a website to commemorate Belarusian fighters killed in Ukraine.
On the website ‘Heroes Do Not Die’ one can see photos of our compatriots who gave their lives during Kyiv’s Revolution of Dignity and the war in Donbas.
There are also stories of Ales Charkashyn, Mikhail Zhyzneuski
and Vitaly Tselyazhenka. The latter was a native of Ukraine’s
Zaporizhia, but taking into account his assistance to Belarusians, the
authors classed him among our heroes.
According to the creators, no one sponsors the website, it does not promote any party or political interests.
The authors urge all indifferent people
to help the project and send memories, photos and facts from their life
of the Belarusian fighters in Ukraine to rip.heroes@gmail.com.
The
number of officially registered unemployed is growing in Belarus. At
the beginning of February, there were 47.7K people and it is 4.4K more
than at the beginning of the year. Thus, the unemployment rate amounted
to 1.1% of the economically active population. The numbers have reached
the level of 10 years ago.
