GOMEL, 21 June (BelTA) – An international youth tent camp Druzhba 2011 will gather nearly 1,500 young people from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine at the Friendship Monument at the border of the Gomel, Bryansk and Chernihiv oblasts, BelTA learnt from chief specialist of the department for youth affairs of the Gomel oblast executive committee Nikolai Zvezdkin. Belarus will be presented by a 300-person delegation from Gomel Oblast, Russia – by the youth from the Southwest Administrative...

MINSK, 21 June (BelTA) - The future Belarusian nuclear power plant will have more than 100 active and passive safety systems, the head of the environmental impact audit department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Alexander Andreev, told a video-press briefing in Minsk. According to him, the Belarusian NPP project is safe and reliable. This project has been implemented in both in Russia and abroad and proved reliable. “For example, the nuclear power plant in China...

MINSK, 20 June (BelTA) – The order of alienation of residential houses of agricultural companies was established in Belarus. Relevant decree No. 253 “On certain issues of the purchase and sale of residential houses (flats) of agricultural companies” was signed by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, BelTA learned from the presidential press service. “The decree spells out the rules guiding the alienation of residential houses for agricultural organizations. For the best...

MINSK, 17 June (BelTA) – There should be neither a price hike nor a sharp salary increase in Belarus, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said in a press conference for central and regional Belarusian mass media on 17 June, BelTA has learnt. The President reminded that the pensions were increased in June upon his instruction. There will be another increase in August, followed by one in autumn; if there is a possibility, they might be indexed again this year, Alexander Lukashenko said....

MINSK, 16 June (BelTA) – As of 1 June 2011, 830 people from 13 countries worldwide had refugee status in Belarus, BelTA learnt from the international public association Development. The bulk of refugees comes from the non-CIS states, mostly Afghanistan (588). The recognized refugees include citizens of Georgia (134), Tajikistan (32), Azerbaijan (29), Ethiopia (23), Palestine (9), Iran (8), India (2) and one from Armenia, Iraq, Cameroon, Liberia and Rwanda. Since 1997 when Belarus...

MINSK, 13 June (BelTA) – The International Monetary Fund suggests that Belarus should use a floating exchange rate, head of the IMF mission in Belarus Chris Jarvis told media on 13 June. Chris Jarvis said that there is a lack of certainty on the Belarusian currency market regarding the level the exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble can get stable. The IMF representative believes that stabilization can be reached via transition to a floating exchange rate. He added: “We are not making...

MINSK, 6 June (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko instructed to improve the justice system and eliminate red tape in the courts. The head of state gave the relevant instructions during a meeting to discuss the improvement of the operation of general jurisdiction courts on 3 June, BelTA learnt from the presidential press service. The Belarusian leader asked the participants of the meeting to focus their attention on the concrete areas in the near future. First of all, there is...

GOMEL, 2 June (BelTA) – The Belarusian landline communication monopoly Beltelecom has signed a service contract with the 900,000th subscriber for its broadband Internet service for households. The event took place in Gomel on 2 June, BelTA has learned. Musician Ivan Zelenin, father of four, is the happy owner of the gift certificate from Beltelecom. The Zelenins moved into a new apartment a while ago and decided to get broadband Internet access. They opted out for Beltelecom’s Universal...

MINSK, 2 June (BelTA) – Nearly all kinds of instrumental folk music will be demonstrated at the 14th international dulcimer and accordion music festival in the Belarusian town of Postavy on 3-5 June, BelTA learned from Anna Smolskaya, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Culture Ministry. The festival will gather folk music amateur bands, instrumental music bands, folk song choirs, individual folk music performers. Guests from Israel, Kazakhstan, China, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Poland,...

MINSK, 1 June (BelTA) – International Children’s Day is marked today worldwide. This day is designed to remind the community of the importance to observe and respect children’s rights. International Children’s Day was established in 1949 following the decision of the Women International Democratic Federation. 40 years later representatives of 59 countries including the USSR met in New York to sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child that proved that children due to their...