100 years ago, on 27th July 1906, Jerzy Giedroyc was born in Minsk. He was a political writer and journalist, founder and editor of the Paris-based journal "Kultura" (1947) and of the Instytut Literacki (Literary Institute) in Rome. The “Kultura” monthly became an institution, the most important European voice of the Polish emigre community. Its pages carried statements on Polish cultural and political life.

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A deputy chairman of the administration of Tsentralny district of Homel, who is in charge of ideology issues, Andrei Harbachou, was displeased by the tape that fenced off the place of the beach plein air “Sand Legends”. A bureaucrat noticed “banned” colours on the tape, and demanded to remove the barrier.

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On the road to the town of Barysau (Minsk region) a national white-red-white flag was put up. In this way Barysau young people marked the Independence Day of Belarus. The flag was attached to a former building of the state traffic police. All the drivers of the cars passing by can see the flag.

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The leader of Belarusian democratic forces Alyaksndr Milnkevich has received a letter from an investigator of the police department of Voranava district, Hrodna region, Paval Melko. The letter of the investigator tells about facts of using tortures against persons under investigation. “A standing practice of using tortures to extract confessions and evidence exists and is developing in the law-enforcing agencies of Belarus. The system of tortures is the main method of obtaining facts of evidence and includes both psychological pressure and physical effect, like the use of electric shock, smothering and other ways of blocking respiratory tract, poisoning by tear gas and neuro-paralytic agents, battery, straining of tendons, piercing of gums by an awl, and so on. People are maimed, their bones broken; people are deprived of sleep, rest, water or food. Some cannot bear tortures, faint, try to commit suicide. Such people, tired from tortures, leap out of windows of offices. I have witnessed that many times, and I am ready to convey information on that,” the letter reads. We offer a shortened version of the letter.

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Opposition activist Siargey Liashkievich has been exonerated today from the prison of Glybokaye. This May, the court of Schuchyn (Grodna region) sentenced Siargey Liashkievich to 5 months of arrest. That was the first time that an oppositionist was found guilty of the breach of part 3, article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (“teaching or another training of people for mass disorders, financial or another material support for such an activity).

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The leader of Social Democrats, who is serving the sentence (constraint for organization of the protest actions against the faked outcome of the referendum and parliamentary election of October 2004) in the town of Baranavichy, applied to the administration of his custody.

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Does Belarus need a satellite and is it reasonable for us to become a space state? Academician Aliaksandar Vaitovich deems the Belarusian part intends to use the “BelKA” as a means to join the Russian military tracking loop and to form a certain image.

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As press secretary of Roskosmos Igor Pananin told RIA “Novosti”, the investigation commission for the crash of the carrier rocket on the Baikonur Cosmodrome had started its work. “The investigation commission for the reasons of the crash has already been created, and it is starting its work now,” - Panarin said.

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In two days 120 self-employed entrepreneurs, market vendors of Brest, have signed the address to the chairman of Brest regional executive committee Kanstantsin Sumar. The address supports participants of the hunger strike of taxi shuttles’ owners. The BelaPAN was informed about that by a participant of the hunger strike, a member of the public association Perspektiva Vyachaslau Kukharchuk. In the afternoon on July 26 that address was sent to the head of the region by post.

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The BSSR Supreme Council adopted the Declaration of state sovereignty of the BSSR on July 27, 1990. The Day of the Declaration of sovereignty was the main state holiday of the Republic of Belarus up to the referendum of 1996.

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Yesterday the leader of the united democratic forces of Belarus Alyaksandr Milinkevich was released from Polatsk police department two hours after detention. Policemen have searched his car.

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Brest authorities banned the meeting “For Freedom! For Independence!” dedicated to the 16th anniversary of Declaration on State Sovereignty of Belarus. First Brest executive committee sanctioned a meeting on a stadium Budaunik. However, on July 25 in the evening an organizer of the event was summoned to the Internal Affairs department of Brest executive committee, and told that holding the meeting is banned.

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The first Belarusian satellite BelKA failed to enter an orbit because of a technical malfunction of the Russian RS-20 Dnepr rocket. Alyaksandr Lukashenka personally observed the launching of the first-ever Belarusian spacecraft at the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan, the BelTA was informed in the Mission Control Center of Russia`s Federal Space Agency.

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