On Wednesday the deputy of the 13th Supreme Council the second rank captain Valery Schukin became homeless. The Polotsk city court suddenly recognized his authorization to the dwelling issued in 1996 to be invalid.

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On August 4 the human rights defending organization “Legal help for population” got the notification about the liquidation of the association. It’s still unknown what the association is accused of. This event is the testimony that the authorities had set in motion the attack on the human rights defending organizations.

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This summer harvesting follows the traditional Soviet traits of “struggles for crop” in accordance with their ideological attributes. Recent State newspapers and reports on the competition between the collective farms will be delivered immediately on the fields and the flags of “labor glory” will fly over collective farms’ buildings in honor of the best combine operators.

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Creating an attractive image for Belarus at the press conference for Russian journalists on August 1, Alexander Lukashenko spoke very much about the advantages of the socially oriented Belarusian economy.

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The station “Independence Square’ doesn’t exist anymore in Minsk metropolitan. As it was at USSR time announcer says: “Station “Lenin Square”. Exit to the railway station”.

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OSCE office estimates the situation with independent mass media outlets in Belarus as ‘critical and going on changing for worse”. The press secretary of the OCSE mission Haidy Smith announced that on Friday at the meeting with journalists in Minsk.

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For the 6 months of 2003 the number of unemployed in Belarus has increased by 4000 persons or by 2,8%. According to the Analysis and Statistics Ministry’s data 141 thousands of unemployed were registered in the end of June. It’s by 22% more than for the analogical period of the last year.

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In Belarus the minimum consumer’s budget for one member of an ordinary family is 169210 BYR a month (about 80$). In the ministry of labor and social defense of Belarus RIA “Novosty” was informed that minimum consumer’s budget of an able-bodied man is 208070 rubles (June’s prices), the budget of a capable of working woman - -208810 rubles, man-pensioner - -173235 rubles, woman-pensioner - -170980 rubles, student – 152680 rubles, girl-student - -150880 rubles. One dollar is approximate 2080.

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From the August 1 Russian companies “Itera’ and ‘Transnafta’ increased the prices of natural gas supplies to Belarus by 9,6 %. It comes out the fact that “Gasprom” has increased by 20% the price of services in gas transporting for independent suppliers. The independent experts think that from the beginning of autumn hard times would occur for Belarusian enterprises and for economy in the whole.

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The Belarusian workers of the banking sphere got the best salary in July. According to the Analysis and Statistics Ministry of the republic, the average salary of the workers of all branches of national economy made 256,6 thousands rubles. The average salary of those who work in banking constituted 491 thousands rubles, in science – 332,7 thousands rubles, in culture and art - -202,7 thousands rubles. The lowest index in agriculture is 146,5 thousands rubles.

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