MINSK, 29 January (BelTA) – Regional newspapers should measure up to the 21st century standards, Information Minister of Belarus Oleg Proleskovsky told reporters on 29 January, BelTA has learnt. “The head of state gave an assessment of the current development level of newspapers. Newspapers try to avoid covering local problems, giving a nonobjective assessment of their bosses’ work. This is why there is much room for improvement,” the Information Minister said. People have a great...

GOMEL, 28 January (BelTA) – Belarusian companies need to develop their own network of filling stations abroad, first of all in Russia and Ukraine, First Vice-Premier of Belarus Vladimir Semashko said at a session of the Gomel oblast executive committee. According to Vladimir Semashko, this pertains to Mozyr oil refinery and Belorusneft production association. Filling stations can be opened in the frontier oblasts – Bryansk, Chernigov, Zhitomir. According to the estimates, proprietary...

GOMEL, 28 January (BelTA) – The Belarus-Russia oil negotiations in January did not consider giving Belarus a Russian loan to finance oil purchases for Belarus' oil refineries, BelTA learnt from First Vice Premier of Belarus Vladimir Semashko. “The Belarusian oil refineries borrow from national and foreign banks to purchase oil,” the First Vice Premier said. As for the reports in mass media on the new terms of the Russian oil supplies to Belarus, Vladimir Semashko noted that many do...

GOMEL, 28 January (BelTA) – The changes in the terms of Russian oil deliveries will not affect the plans to upgrade Belarusian oil refineries, BelTA learnt from First Vice-Premier of Belarus Vladimir Semashko who took part in a session of the Gomel Oblast Executive Committee on 28 January. “It is a number one principle – in no circumstances to slow down the modernization pace,” Vladimir Semashko underlined. In his words, it is necessary to decide now to re-allocate profits from...

MINSK, 28 January (BelTA) - Belarus, Russia and Latvia signed an agreement on the tri-junction point of their land boundaries in Minsk on 28 January. The document was signed by Chairman of the State Border Committee of Belarus Igor Rachkovsky, Ints Umpacis, Ambassador at Large of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, and Alexei Obukhov, Ambassador of the Russian Foreign Ministry. “The agreement finalized the demarcation of the Belarusian-Latvian border. Now we can get down to the delimitation of...

MINSK, 27 January (BelTA) – Nearly 110,000 jubilee medals, On the 65th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, will be made in Belarus, head of the press service of the Defense Ministry of Belarus Vyacheslav Remenchik said at a roundtable in Minsk on 27 January. The medal was instituted following the CIS Heads of State Council resolution in Bishkek in October 2008. The jubilee medals will be awarded to Great Patriotic War veterans, former prisoners of...

MINSK, 26 January (BelTA) - President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov highly praised the technological capabilities of the Belarusian industry during his visits to the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ trademark), the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant and the Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ trademark), Vice Premier of Belarus Viktor Burya told reporters in Minsk on 26 January. Turkmenistan is expected to purchase around 1.500 MAZ trucks. “Getting familiar with the Belarusian machinery, the...

GOMEL, 25 January (BelTA) – Belarusian Steel Works is set to deliver 1,000 tonnes of oil and gas pipelines to Russia’s Rosneft oil company by 1 April 2010, BelTA learnt from the company’s information department. 73mmx5.5m pipelines are made especially for upgrading oil wells. The delivery will consist of four stages. The first batch of 200-tonne steelwork was shipped to the RN-Service (Rosneft subsidiary) in December 2009. The second consignment (200 tonnes) will be delivered by late...

MINSK, 22 January (BelTA) – On 22 January, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made new appointments and took personnel-related decisions, BelTA learnt from the presidential press service. The President appointed: Igor Zaichkov - Aide to the President of Belarus on physical education, sport and tourism; Valery Brylev – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Kazakhstan; Viktor Denisenko – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to...

MINSK, 19 January (BelTA) – The State Committee for Standardization suggests introducing new technical regulations “Milk and Dairy Products” from 1 January 2011, First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Standardization Viktor Nazarenko said at a session of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers. The draft technical regulations are based on the food safety requirements of the European Union and Russian federal law “Technical regulations on milk and dairy products”. The...