Father of the late ZUBR activist Andrei Zaitsev was denied a right to open criminal proceedings over the matter of leading his son to suicide. The investigator doesn’t allow Zaitsevs’ attorney Dmitry Ivanishko to familiarize himself with the case materials. Meantime, the reasons for Andrei Zaitsev’s demise are quite clear, for he left a pre-death note and an audio-tape.

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Resourceful military officials discovered new ways of filling the impoverished Belarusian budget. In the near future Belarusian peace-makers’ contingent will come under fire in most of the planet’s “hot spots” – for additional payment, of course.

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Reuters reported that the Russian-Belarusian company “Slavneft” intends to sign on January 15 an agreement with the Sudanese authorities on the expansion of oil exploration in Africa. Slavneft will start its geological search at the sectors 9 and 11 in central Sudan and sector 15, which is closer to the seaside. In the oil company’s statement they express readiness to invest $126mln into the project, as well as engage in the consortium, uniting the petroleum companies from Emirates, CNPC from China and the state-run company from Sudan Sudapec. This intention, taking into account the fact that the Belarusian state owns part of the “Slavneft’s” capital, must at the first sight cause satisfaction, were it not for one circumstance. Sudan has been waging a bloody civil war for 20 years now.

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On January 15-19 Tripoli will host the first Belarusian-Libyan meeting of the joint commission for economic, trade and scientific cooperation. “Izvestia” correspondent reports that the Belarusian delegation will be headed by the Minister for foreign affairs Mikhail Khvostov, the commission’s co-chairman on behalf of the Belarusian side.

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In order to ensure ideological agitation of state policy Alexander Lukashenko signed an order to set up informational consultative groups. “Soyuz-info” correspondent was told in the Lukashenko’s press-service that in accordance with this ruling the senior workers, who make up the groups, have to at least twice in one quarter speak before the personnel of their plants, military units, educational institutions and at the place of their residence on the most poignant political, social-economic and international issues. Lukashenko’s Administration is ordered to quarterly draw the results of the work and step up the necessary measures, aimed at their sophistication.

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In last October 47% of directors of the Belarusian industrial companies said that in the next 2-3 months the economic condition of their companies will deteriorate. 42% hoped that the situation will remain, while only 11% said that it would improve. These are the results of the survey, conducted in October 2001 by the researchers from the Ministry of economy sociological service. In the analogous poll last year 34% of respondents expected aggravation of their economic condition.

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Over the eleven months of the past year the number of those unemployed grew in Novopolotsk. 1352 jobless individuals were registered there, which is almost 22 people more than in 2000. The level of the fixed unemployment amounted to 1,94% against 1,75% last year. And it seems as though this figure won’t fall in the near future, as far as many town’s companies unleashed permanent redundancy practice. The largest of them are “Polimir’ and “Izmeritel”.

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On January 14, 2001 forty young people gathered in the Belovezhskaya Puscha in order to set up a new movement. The movement of people, who are no longer willing to tolerate the weird conduct of a mentally sick dictator and his encirclement. The movement of people, who are willing to live in an independent, strong and free Belarus.

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In Geneva, at the session of the Inter-Parliamentarian Union’s Committee on protection of the MPs’ and human rights the cases of the 13th Supreme Soviet deputies are to be considered. A number of cases are supervised by the Committee on protection of rights of MPs and human rights, which is created by the Inter-Parliamentarian Union. The Committee monitors the cases of Andrei Klimau, Valery Schukin, Viktar Hanchar and others.

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If the mandate of the Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus would not be changed, the future stay of the group in Minsk would be impossible, Belarusian foreign minister Mikhail Khvastou said in the analytical program “Panarama” at the Belarusiuan state TV on January 12.

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The day before yesterday from the early morning the property was being distrained in the family of general director of the state-run Minsk Tractor Works Mikhail Lyavonau. On the day of Lyavonau’s arrest his apartment, garage and summer cottage were searched. On January 10, on the word of the wife of the ex-director, the law-enforcers said while standing behind the door that they had come for a new search, but on entering the apartment they produced credentials and said that they were going to detrain property.

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A protest meeting of the Belarusian Trade Union Federation, Independent Trade Union and Free Trade Union took place in Salihorsk at “Budaunik” stadium. The protesters filled the stadium that contains about 7 thousand people. They objected to the Ministers’ Council’s decree from December 14, 2001, that banned the order of trade union dues transfer through accounts departments of the enterprises.

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Joint-stock commercial bank “Korpobank” was excluded from the Unique state register of legal entities and individuals entrepreneurs. This decision had been taken by the National Bank’s board on the basis of definition of the Economic court of Minsk, which recognized as legitimate the liquidation of the bank. BELTA correspondent reports from the National Bank’s information department that when the liquidation procedure started, “Korpobank” had no indebtedness before individuals.

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Lithuanian energy company “Lietuvos energija” on January 9, following the launching of the first energy block of the Ignalynsky nuclear power station, stopped on December 29, 2001 for the prophylactics repair, resumed export of energy supplies to Belarus. The supplies are carried out within the framework of the April 2001-signed contract on energy supplies from Lithuania. In January 2002 Belarus must receive from “Lietuvos energija” around 350mln kilowatt/hours of energy, as specified in the additional agreement to the contract in energy supplies for January 2002, reports “Belenergo” concern.

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The country spent on its athletes’ preparation for XIX Winter Olympics 2mln 857 thousand dollars, said the Minister of sport and tourism Evgeny Vorsin at the January 11 session of the executive committee in which the NOC president Alexander Lukashenko took part. Out of this sum, according to Vorsin, 1mln stands for the sponsors’ donations. The Minister stressed that the Belarusian side still has to transfer to the Polish airlines “Lot” account $155 thousand for bringing the sportsmen to the Olympic Games and back home. In their turn, the Games’ organizers pledged to return $93 thousand dollars for allocating some of the athletes outside the Olympic village.

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Crimes of computer hackers and computer carders remain the factor, complicating the overall situation with criminality in Belarus, said at the Friday briefing deputy head of the department for operative organizational investigation police lieutenant-colonel Igor Chernenko. Meantime, according to him, the dynamics of computer crimes is accelerating. Chernenko also noted that over the past year the country recorded 429 computer crimes, while in 1999-2000 there happened only 3.

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