The Education Ministry of Belarus and the Ukrainian Microsoft Office have signed the memorandum “Partnership in Education”, the First Deputy Education Minister of Belarus Alexander Zhuk told reporters. According to him, many educational establishments use counterfeit software, which in fact creates difficulties both for the producer and the Education Ministry of Belarus. The Belarusian educational establishments need Microsoft products, therefore both the sides are interested in the...

14:46:49 14/5 F,АНГЛ,НЕТ/ 60,САГО At present Belarusians do not require visas to enter a CIS member-state except for Turkmenistan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA, in line with the Bishkek agreement on visa-free travels for citizens of member-states of the Commonwealth of Independent States of October 9, 1992 visa-free travels are available to all citizens of the member-states if personal identification documents or citizenship identification papers are provided....

The new regulations on the transit of goods by individuals are meant to eliminate grey schemes, Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian State Customs Committee (SCC) Sergei Borisyuk told journalists on May 13. According to him, the regulations of the border transit of the personal use goods will be optimized beginning from May 15, 2008. The SCC has distributed recommendations on the unification of the procedures on the determination of the type of goods. This scheme is based on the principle of...

Belarusian schoolchildren won six medals at the 42nd International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad. Headmaster of the Belarusian State University Lyceum Tatiana Kolevich told BelTA that the pupils of the lyceum won three medals. They are Pavel Choulkin (golden medal), Hleb Gorbatsevich (silver medal) and Anna Sivopliasova (bronze medal). Valeria Kasnerik and Dmitry Doinikov from Minsk school #22 also won a golden and a silver medal respectively. Andrei Kononov, a pupil of the school #51, was...

Belarus worthily performs its duties in its area of responsibility both in the Union State and the CSTO. The statement was made by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on May 13 as he met with Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Nikolai Bordiuzha. Nikolai Bordiuzha was on a working trip in Minsk. “Actually Belarus and Russia are the nucleus of the CSTO,” remarked Alexander Lukashenko. “This is why we should resolve all issues in the CSTO zone...

Belarus’ Ekaterina Karsten won the gold medal in Women’s Single Sculls (W1x) at the 2008 first Rowing World Cup which was held in Munich. The Belarusian took 8 minutes 17.54 seconds to finish the 2,000 meter race. Mirka Knapkova from the Czech Republic came in second and Emma Twigg from New Zealand third. Yulia Bichik and Natalia Gelakh from Belarus finished in 5th the race of women’s pairs (W2-). They were more than 7 seconds behind the third-placed. The gold medal went to You Wu and...

In Q1 this year, Belarus' foreign trade in goods and services was 60.3% up over the same period last year (in 2008 the trade is projected to increase by 14.5-15.5%), BelTA learnt form the Ministry of Statistics and Analysis. According to the ministry, in January-March Belarusian exports were 65% up (16-17% up in 2008), imports were 56% up (12.5-13.5%). The Q1 deficit of foreign trade in goods and services came to $220.5 million. In 2008, the deficit is projected within $1400-1420 million.

The structure of agricultural companies should be optimised in the near future in Belarus, head of state Alexander Lukashenko issued the instruction as he visited the Nesvizh branch of a Minsk breeding company on May 12. “I have already given the instruction to order the structure of agriculture. There are as many complications here as in the education system. It is necessary to clear it up, to rule out intermediary links, to revise employee numbers,” stressed the head of state. He...

On May 6 Belarus started exporting electricity generated by Bereza state district power plant to Poland, BelTA learnt from Belenergo representatives. BelTA has been told, a contract had been signed with Poland. According to the contract Belarus undertakes to supply around 70 million kWh of electricity every month to Poland till the end of the year. Thus after a break, which had lasted more than a year, Belarusian energy supplies were resumed. In 2006 Belarus exported around one billion kWh...

Belarus’ GDP will grow by at least 10% in 2008, Economy Minister of Belarus Nikolai Zaichenko said on May 7 as he met with veterans and participants of the Great Patriotic War, former employees of the BSSR State Planning Committee. “Nowadays Belarus is implementing ambitious economic programmes. The annual GDP growth has averaged 9.7% over the last four years. It is a very high figure. Over the three months of 2008 Belarus’ GDP has grown by 10.5%,” he said. The official added, they...