The Maastrichtian sediments of northern Iraq are rich in larger benthic foraminifera. Among them, the genus

Loftusia is well-known one because of its significant palaeogeographic distribution across the Mediterranean

and Middle East. In this study, observations of abnormal test shapes, species recognition criteria and endoskeleton

characteristics of Loftusia are discussed, based on the new material from north-eastern Iraq. The following

species of Loftusia are described: Loftusia elongata Cox, L. persica Brady, Loftusia morgani Douvillé, L. anatolica

Meriç, L. matsumarui Meriç and Görmüs, L. minor B Cox, L. ketini B Meriç and L. kahtaensis Meriç,

Loftusia minor A Cox, L. oktayi Meriç and L. baykali Meriç. The predominant species are Loftusia elongata,

L. morgani and L. baykali. Skewed abnormal individuals and epidermal parts of the endoskeleton structure are

also interesting aspects to note. Quantitative data obtained for Loftusia allow us to better understand and interpret

species identification criteria, abnormal occurrences and the endoskeleton structure.

Ukraine remains today one of the main migrant sending countries in Europe, with thousands of Ukrainians working in Czechia, Italy, Poland and Russia. In this regard, Ukraine shares the previous experience of Central European countries such as the Baltic States, Poland and Slovakia, that in the 1990s and early 2000s registered first temporary, and later permanent, outflows. In more recent years, however, many Central and Eastern European countries started to register increasing numbers of immigrants and some of them have switched from net sending to net receiving migration regimes. The objective of this article is to discuss the possibility of a similar turnaround in Ukraine; to this end, we investigate the main quantitative data on mi-gration from and to Ukraine, and interpret this information in the light of selected theoretical approaches that have been used to explain migration in Central and Eastern Europe. The available data reveal high levels of labour emigration of both temporary and permanent character, the increasing propensity of mi-grants to settle down in the host countries, and the growing involvement of the youngest cohorts in the emi-gration. Despite this evidence we argue that the current situation by no means constitutes a premise for reversing the outflow from Ukraine. We conclude that the most recent improvements in general economic indicators will not lead to high levels of immigration without an active labour market policy towards foreigners.

This article presents the main recent developments in migration trends to and from Belarus. It studies these trends via the migration systems theory lenses, according to which Belarus belongs to the Eurasian migra-tion system. The most significant migration flows are directed towards Russia, due to the existence of the Union State. However, over the last decade, Belarusian statistics have shown a gradual transformation in the direction of these migration flows. After the recession in Russia in 2015, the number of emigrants from Belarus to EU countries increased. The most significant changes have occurred in the migration dynamics between Belarus and Poland and Lithuania. The existence of the Pole’s Card makes it more difficult to measure the number of Belarusian immigrants in Poland, therefore, I provide a comparative analysis of Belarusian and Polish statistics in order to show a more realistic picture of the number and structure of Belarusian emigrants and the problem of underestimation in the sending country. Particular attention is paid to the consequences of the political situation in Belarus after 2020; this has become an additional push factor for emigrants and may also lead to a further reduction of Belarusian migratory links within the Eurasian migration system. Thus, the statistics for 2021 show a significant increase in the number of Bel-arusian emigrants to the EU, while emigration to Russia has remained at the same level.