The celebration of the Day of Knowledge by students of Yakub Kolas Belarusian Lyceum ended in arrests. About 150 people gathered today at 4 p.m. in the October Square in Minsk, to celebrate the Day of Knowledge and express protest to the closure of the Belarusian Lyceum. Not only students of the lyceum and its teachers, but also activists of other organizations and common people came to the square.

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The Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BCDT) has lodged an application to the Minsk city executive committee for organizing a picket on September 29 in the October Square of Minsk. The protest is organized to express protest to the actions of the authorities, which systematically violate rights of trade unions, the organizers inform.

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Belarus hopes for lasting and mutually beneficial character of political and economical partnership with Libya. It was said in the congratulations by A. Lukashenka sent to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on the national holiday, the Revolution Day.

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The U.S. Treasury Department said in a press release on 24 August that two private banks, Infobank of Belarus and First Merchant Bank of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, have been involved in money laundering. According to the U.S. administration, Infobank laundered funds from fraudulent transactions involving Iraq. "Infobank laundered funds for the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein that were derived from schemes to circumvent the United Nations Oil-for-Food (UN OFF) program, including illegal surcharges and inflated contracts," the press release reads. "Proceeds from the illegal surcharges and inflated contracts either were returned to the Iraqi government -- in violation of UN OFF program conditions -- or were used to purchase weapons or finance military training through Infobank and its subsidiary."

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A judge of the Zhlobin District Court on Tuesday imposed a fine of 30 times the Base Rate ($265) on Vladimir Katsora, deputy chairman of the Gomel regional branch of the United Civic Party (UCP), for acting on behalf of an unregistered organization.

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Today a large action in support of the Belarusian language in the spheres of education “We want to study in Belarusian!” Its main organizers were the most active youth groups and organizations “Youth of the Lyceum”, “Belarusian Students Society”, and youth initiative “VOKA”. Members of the Young Front, Zubr and different other youth initiatives are to join the protest. Similar performances are to take place in some other towns, capitals of regions. The rally is to take place at 4 p.m. in the October Square in Minsk.

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In Hrodna in the court of the Lenin district continues consideration of the criminal case against heads of the strike committee Valery Levaneuski and Aliaksandar Vasilyeu. They are charged with public defamation of president Lukashenka, and Mr. Vasilyeu also with organization of unsanctioned meeting. The witnesses were interrogated in the court. The question was if there was president’s defamation in the poem in the 1st May leaflet, if there were really disorders in the streets after the meeting on May 1?

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OLYMPIC 100m champion Yuliya Nesterenko has been taken to hospital after suffering stomach problems and stress, an official said today. "She felt unwell yesterday. She was taken to hospital," Anatoly Novitsky, head of the sports in the local administration in her home town of Brest in western Belarus, told Reuters. "The diagnosis is not clear. There are some problems with the stomach. I think nerves, change of climate and food and stress may have caused it."

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Six foreign companies have expressed an interest in taking part in a tender for a third cellular phone service license in Belarus, Telecommunications Minister Vladimir Goncharenko said Tuesday. Belarus launched an open tender June 30 to increase competition in the country`s cellular market.

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