Fiduciary deposits are one of Swiss banking`s secret weapons. They offer foreign clients anonymity and freedom from taxation, which attracts wealthy persons intent on evading taxes in their own countries.

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In Vilnius Belarusians staged a protest in support of the Hrodna newspaper Pahonya and the independent media in Belarus in general. Many people responded to the call of Pahonya’s editor-in-chief Mikalaj Markevich and Belarusians from Vilnius to hold a picket in support of Pahonya during the PACE Political Committee session in the capital of Lithuania. Today, on November 20, in the morning, at the square in front of the Town Hall an action was staged. About two dozens of members of different democratic Belarusian organizations took part in it.

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Georgy Kozulko, deputy director of the State national park “Belovezhskaya Puscha” responsible for scientific research, has been fired from his post. Candidate of biological sciences, he occupied this post for the past three years. According to his colleagues, during this period the scientific section and international cooperation have significantly improved. Staffers of the “Belovezhskaya Puscha” engaged in international scholarly seminars and symposiums. There have been worked out new projects, envisaging the financial support from foreign sources. With the appointment of the new director Nikolai Bambiza, their scientific policy underwent certain changes.

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The Republican Committee of the Military servicemen Trade Union and the Ministry Of Defense are alarmed by the fact that even by the end of the year people in the budget sphere of the Armed Forces won’t get $100 promised for August 2001. The minimal consumer’s budget for one member of a family of four is equal to 87 roubles. Armed Forces have lost many skilled employees; there is a great fluctuation of manpower.

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According to the Ministry of statistics and analysis over the first two weeks of November the growth of consumer prices in Belarus constituted 1,8% (0,7 for the first week and 1,1 for the second). For comparison: during the first two weeks of October the prices rose by 1,4%, September – 0,8%. The November inflation rate is second to only April’s, when the prices on stuff skyrocketed by 2,5%, reports BelaPAN. Since the beginning of the year consumer prices in Belarus increased by 34,9% (for the analogous period 2000 – 92%, including for the first fortnight of November – 2,5%).

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Inflation in Belarus in October 2001 reached 3,6%, as compared with 2,1% in September, reports the Ministry of statistics and analysis (Prime-TASS). Prices on services rose by 3,7%, foodstuff – 4,1%, other commodity – 2%.

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Overall indebtedness for the consumed energy by November 1, 2001 amounted to 551,5bln rubles. The most alarming of all is the situation with the payment for agricultural companies, whose debts are catastrophically increasing, having reached the level of 336,1bln rubles by November 1 or 60,9% debts of all consumers. Despite the gathering of crops, the possibility to pay off taxes in the fall and significant discounts, their payments for the consumed energy remain on the level of 40%.

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Belarusian authorities “won’t allow anyone to profit from evil habits of the population, damaging both the state and the nation’s health.” This quotation was voiced by Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday during his meeting with the top state officials, with whom he discussed issues of tobacco market development.

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Moscow company “Mobile TeleSystems”, the largest cell communications operator in Russia, plans to launch in the first half of 2002 a two-diapason network of GSM 900/1800 standard in Belarus. As noted in the MTS Tuesday press-release, the services of digital cellular communications in Belarus will be provided by the newly formed joint venture “Mobile TeleSystems”.

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Procuracy of the Leninsky district of Minsk opened legal action against the editor-in-chief of “Narodnaya Volya” Iosif Seredich. The man is accused of disseminating false data through his newspaper. The basis for launching legal action against him were the September publications in “Narodnaya Volya” – a statement by leaders of the political parties and movements of Belarus, which are part of a broad public coalition, as well as an article by a professor, member of the National Academy of Sciences Ivan Nikitchenko “White spots in Belarus and Russia. Who feels like having business with such a shameless partner?”

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Pentagon strategists are elaborating plans of massive bombardment of Iraqi territory. Air raids against the Iraqi forces will usher in a new phase in the anti-terrorist campaign, USA Today was told on Monday by sources in the US Congress and Defense Ministry.

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On November 23 investigators of the “Ignatovich’s case” will interrogate personnel of the Belarusian ORT bureau over the episodes of Dmitry Zavadsky’s abduction. The regional court summoned, in particular, head of the ORT special projects department Pavel Sheremet. A few days ago Sheremet came to Minsk to film another series of the documentary “Empire’s last year”, dedicated to the collapse of the Soviet Union. He also highlighted the latest developments at the Kuropaty memorial site.

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Political Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is to consider the situation in Belarus today and to discuss the question of returning to the country the PACE special guest status, which Belarus lost in 1996 in a follow-up to a national referendum. PACE regarded that referendum as an infringement on international democratic norms and the Constitution of Belarus. As a result of the referendum the parliament of the country was dissolved and a new legislative body, which is actually ruled by the executive power, was formed.

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Independent newspaper “Pahonya” correspondents Andjei Pisalnik and Pavel Mozheiko, along with their editor-in-chief Nikolai Markevich faced police protocols over the administrative violations – for holding an unsanctioned picket in defense of the newspaper, shut down upon the ruling of the Supreme Economic Court (art.167/1 of the Administrative code). The protest took place November 19 in the Sovietskaya str. in Grodno and attracted over a hundred participants – journalists and readers, who unfurled banners, condemning the restriction of the freedom of speech in Belarus.

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Lithuanian Sojm’s chair Arturas Paulauskas deems undesirable the isolation of Belarus from the democratic processes, which are underway in Europe. RIA “Novosti” reports that the Lithuanian speaker mentioned this before the delegates of the session of the PACE Political Council, that opened its doors this Monday in Vilnius.

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42 people were made redundant in Ashmyany at the local plant Radiotekhnika. The news was a shock for the workers. Ashmyany works produce radio technical equipment for such enterprises as the Minsk Tractor Building Plant, Minsk Automobile Plant, BelAZ. But this cooperation has become loss-making for Radiotekhnika.
Before the elections the prices for the production of the plant were frozen. So the prices for raw materials grew, while the price of the production was remaining the same for half a year.

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For the sixth time this year the Gomel regional council discussed the issue of non-fulfillment by the region’s industry of a plan on manufacturing consumer goods. According to the first deputy chair of the regional council Alexander Belayev, the Gomel region chronically comes up last in this regard among all other Belarusian regions. The most significant production recession occurred at the “Spartak” confectionery, garment factory “Komintern”, Gomel grease-producing factory, footwear company “Trud”, state bakeries and many others.

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China buys complexes of computer-aided control systems, produced by the domestic military company “Agat”, the journalists were told in the National press-center November 19 by a chief of the artillery forces of Belarus major-general Ivan Chikal.

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