Czech media report of a scandal, which marked the 300th jubilee of St.Petersburg. Czech president Vatslav Klaus, who arrived in the Russia’s northern capital among the invited VIPs, refused to be seated next to Alexander Lukashenko. Neither Russian nor Belarusian officials comment on the incident.

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US embassy in Belarus expressed deep concern over the acts of vandalism, committed over the past week in several Belarusian towns, Minsk being no exception. In particular, on May 25 the unknown vandals seriously damaged the memorial bench in the Kuropaty mass entombment. This bench was a free gift of the US nation to the people of Belarus. In early 1994 it was installed in Kuropaty by the US president Bill Clinton during his visit to Belarus.

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Overnight May-29-30 in the so-called “Borisov Kuropaty” the unknown vandals desecrated the place of commemoration of the strugglers against the bloody Bolshevik regime, who had been innocently executed there in the years 1920-1930.

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Belarus’ newly appointed Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov’s first voyage overseas will be to the African continent. It is planned that on June 3-4 he will visit the Algerian People’s Democratic Republic. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry doesn’t yet announce this visit as far as the ongoing series of earthquakes there may change its terms.

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Alexander Lukashenko signed a confidential order, which may limit the number of citizens, aspiring to personally meet with the “deputies”. The text of the order was submitted to the lower chamber speaker’s secretariat only in one copy.

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Many western politicians adopted an unrealistic vision of the Belarusian opposition, having little regard for the Belarusian political and historical specifics, said director of the Institute for democracy in Eastern Europe Erik Chenovet during his Washington meeting with representatives of the state and non-state US organizations. Chenovet laid out his vision of the opposition democratic movement’s development in Belarus on the basis of his trip to Belarus following the presidential elections 2001.

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Representatives of the Belarusian community in USA met with the Director for Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus of the US State Department Mr.Taplin and another official from that department Mr.Uegara. Representative of the Bureau for the European and Eurasian affairs Mr.Pifer also engaged in the meeting. That was the Belarusian organizations’ forth such meeting over the past four months.

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Today, June 2, at 10a.m. the Supreme Court of Belarus will start deliberations on the liquidation of the national public association “Youth Christian-Social Union”, as initiated by the Ministry of justice in late April. Formal basis for that was their alleged violation of business rules, implementation of training seminars etc. The Youth Christian-Social Union is country’s forth public organization so far, facing liquidation motion.

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Following the informal CIS presidents’ summit in Petersburg, there was held a “brief conversation” between Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, pinpointed the press-secretary of the Belarusian leader Natalia Petkevich at the press-conference. As far as they told us nothing of the content of that talk, one should suppose that it was REALLY brief.

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President of the Belarusian Congress of the democratic trade unions Alexander Yaroshuk and chairman of the national Belarusian trade union of radio-electronic industry Gennady Fedynich will engage in the annual 91st conference of the International Labor Organization in Geneva, due to be opened on June 8.

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Moscow publishing house “Yauza” issued a book “Invasion” with a sub-title “Unknown history of a well-known president”, describing the life realities and rule of Alexander Lukashenko. The book quite realistically portrays the Belarusian incumbent’s personality, as well as mentions the details of the scandalous events – disappearances of the political opponent, arms trade, scandalous sides of Alexander Lukashenko and his encirclement’s life.

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ANAHEIM -- The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim finally broke through against New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur Saturday night and as a result, Anaheim moved right back into the thick of things in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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Alexander Lukashenko ordered to introduce at the country’s companies the post of the deputy head for ideological work – and not only at the state companies. The Russian “BBC” service reports that the Ministry of labor and social protection sent to the Union of entrepreneurs of Belarus instructions about the official responsibilities of deputy head for ideological work. The new post has already been inserted into the state documentation.

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