This week will see the final solution of the conflict around the OSCE AMG mission in Belarus, said in an interview to BelaPAN the first secretary of the OSCE Advisory-Monitoring Group in Minsk Alina Josan. According to her, later in the week there must commence negotiations between the OSCE representatives and the Belarusian government. The group’s future will largely depend on the talks’ outcome. Mrs.Josan stressed that her accreditation expires on October 29.

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GazetaSNG.ru
Vladimir Putin’s initiative to hand over the post of the CIS head to Ukraine and therefore start the long awaited rotation, received an unexpectedly strong repulsion at the yesterday’s summit. Nazarbaev, Shevarnadze, Aliev and Akaev upheld the initiative. But Kocharyan, Karimov and Lukashenko were categorically opposed to the proposal.

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According to the United Council of entrepreneurs, the national business strike is continuing in most regions of Belarus.

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President of the Russian Institute of strategic evaluations Alexander Konovalov called the integration process between Belarus and Russia futile. He said that in his October 7 interview to the Internet site “Strana.ru” Moreover, he said, there’s more disunity among the two nations than real unification.

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“Narodnaya Volya” office received a phone call from some lady, who said that the authorities are depriving the teachers of their daily salary, which goes to cover the construction of the national library. But the teachers have no resources for such charity.

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The governments of China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar are the most flagrant violators of the religious freedom worldwide. Such a conclusion is contained in the new annual report of the US Department of State on the freedom of faith in various countries, reports ITAR-TASS. Among the former Soviet republics Belarus has the worst record of freedom of faith violations. According to the Department of State “recently the Belarusian parliament approved one of the most repressive religious laws in the whole of Eurasia”.

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There was filed another lawsuit against “BDG”, whose initiator demands moral compensation of 100mln rubles ($53thsd). The plaintiff is an employee of the “Belkoopbank” Pavel Dik who claims that the newspaper and the author of one of its publications Sergei Satsuk have defamed his honor, dignity and business reputation. Thus, “BDG” and its supplement “For interior use” are participating in three legal actins at once: on October 21 the court will consider the lawsuit, started by the investigator Terehovich against journalist Irina Makovetskaya; there continues investigation into a lawsuit against Irina Halip and her article “Afghan dogs”.

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At the Kishinev summit Alexander Lukashenko spoke against the reelection to the post of the chairman of the Council of the CIS heads of states, presently occupied by Vladimir Putin, of the Ukrainian leader Leonid Kuchma. Interfax was told that on Monday in the press-center of the Belarusian president. Lukashenko underscored that the “problem shouldn’t be solved spontaneously”. As you remember, it was Vladimir Putin who first proposed to nominate Kuchma to the post.

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Iran consented to Belarus’ accession to the Treaty on transport corridor “North-South” (Finland-India), BelaPAN quotes press-secretary of the Ministry of transport and communications of Belarus Ella Kurilo as saying.

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Upon his return from the meeting of the Council of CIS heads of states, which took place on October 7 in Kishinev, the Prime Minister Gennady Novitsky will leave for a short-time vacation. BELTA quotes the Premier’s press-secretary Ivan Znatkevich as saying that Novitsky will spend his vacation on the territory of Belarus and return back to work on October 17.

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The salary debts’ liquidation problem was considered on Monday during the meeting in the government, Interfax reports with a reference to the Cabinet’s press-service. The meeting was held by the first deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky. Apart from him, the event attracted deputy head of the government, heads of the Ministry of finances, Cabinet’s apparatus and some of its departments. Salary debts exceeded 100bln rubles, which constitutes over 19% of the general salary fund.

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Leaders in terms of unemployment statistics in Belarus are the Vitebsk, Mogilev and Gomel regions. In the near future the specialists foresee another leap in the unemployment rate. Minsk alone will witness the staff redundancy at more than 950 companies. Therefore, around 10thsd workers will be left jobless.

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On January 1, 2003 Belarus will impose tight control over the import to Belarus of gas and diesel fuel from the countries, with which Belarus has previously signed a customs treaty on the cancellation of import control. The concomitant decree “On additional measures to fight the illicit turnover of gasoline and diesel fuel in the Republic of Belarus” was signed on September 7 by Alexander Lukashenko.

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October 8 the municipal authorities plant to turn on central heating in the living apartments and administrative buildings of Belarus, BelaPAN was told by the head of the department of energy and fuel resources of the Minsk city hall Vladimir Dotsenko. Every day they will switch on the heating in another 20% of the living apartments, raising the temperatures in the flats to 18 degrees. According to Dotsenko, in all schools and hospitals the heating will start functioning today.

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