The Incomes of Ukrainian Ministers

"Among the members of the Cabinet of Ministers, Vice Premier and Infrastructure Minister Borys Kolesnikov received the highest income, which amounted to Hr 164.5 million."

The President's Income Declaration

From Ukrinform:

"KYIV, April 11 /UKRINFORM/. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has submitted his income declaration.

The document, which was posted on the official website of the head of state, indicates that the president's total income in 2010 amounted to UAH 920,268 (UAH 7.96 / USD 1).

Dividends, interest, and royalties totaled UAH 544,588, while his salary was UAH 375,680.

Yanukovych spent UAH 112,030 on property maintenance.

The head of state owns a 1.77-hectare land plot, a 619.6-square-meter house, a 239.4-square-meter apartment, and two 20- and 19.9-square-meter garages. According to the declaration, Yanukovych owns no cars.

The president owns shares worth UAH 2,772 and a bank deposit of UAH 1,063,892.

The president's wife, Lyudmila Yanukovych, earned UAH 18,443 last year.

She owns a land plot of 0.7 hectares and a 303.8-square-meter apartment. In addition, she also has a bank deposit of UAH 184,160."

Agriculture in Chernobyl Affected Areas

Ukrinform reports:"KYIV, April 7 /UKRINFORM/. Renaissance Capital and a group of investors announced plans to invest money in agriculture of Ivankiv district, Kyiv region.

The local lands have not been cultivated for 20 years because of their proximity to the Chornobyl zone. The project also involves one of the major agro-industrial holdings - Sintal Agriculture."

Love and Marriage

"KYIV, March 26 /UKRINFORM/. According to a study conducted by Research & Branding Group, the majority of Ukrainians (66.9%) referred to love as the primary motivation for marriage.

39.2% of respondents believe the reason for marriage is the desire to have children, 32.5% the commonality of views and interests, 16.9% tradition, 89% the partner's charm, 8.4% pregnancy, 6.7% loneliness, 5.6% legalization of sexual relations, 4.9% improvement of financial situation, 4.7% self-assertion, and 2.3% ambition.

At the same time, 48.1% of the respondents in general have a positive attitude to the practice of a marriage contract when entering into a formal marriage, 28.4% negative attitude, and 9.6% do not know what it is.

The most optimal number of children today, according to 59.7% of Ukrainians, is two, 19% believe that one child is best, and 10.7% three children.

The public opinion research on issues of marriage and family was held from 1 to 9 March."

Another View on Belgium

This time in the Kyiv Post (taken from Reuters)

Belgium as Explained in Ukraine

The newspaper Day (Dehn) has an interesting attempt by a Belgian to explain Belgium's approach to linguistic diversity. While the article is fairly neutral, the title seems to suggests somebody is unhappy with the conclusion of the article:

"The achilles’ heel of Belgium is therefore the absence of a national constituency for the federal elections and it can be expected that the federal state will be replaced tomorrow by a confederal state and The Day after tomorrow by two states."

The Wage of Ukrainian Models

"Prepared to be impressed, if not entertained, thousands of socialites and politicians lined up the catwalk to witness new collections. Hundreds of Ukrainian models put these colorful shows to life for… $50 a show."