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The Belarusian Special Olympics delegation received official participant medals at the Open Masters Games in Abu Dhabi. They were presented during a team reception at the Belarusian Embassy in the UAE, BelTA has learned.
For the entire team, the meeting with Belarusian diplomats was a true celebration. The warm support from their compatriots is palpable, providing an energy boost ahead of the competitions at the Zayed Sports City Arena in the UAE capital, Larisa Tabolina, the head of the delegation, said. She also mentioned that besides the official reception, the Belarusian diplomats prepared an interesting cultural program. The guests visited Abu Dhabi’s most vibrant and iconic locations before heading to the shores of the Persian Gulf to relax. The athletes and coaches said the day felt like a fairytale – they experienced the city’s unique architecture and history, and the sunny seaside proved an ideal place for a mental recharge after intense training and competitions. Such support from their compatriots allowed the team to feel at home, despite being thousands of kilometers away. The Belarusian diplomats wished the athletes luck, emphasizing that their participation in the Games is not just about sport, but a mission showcasing Belarus’ strength and inclusivity to the world.
The Games spotlight inspiring human stories, with athletes aged 30 to 90 competing in the UAE capital. At the Open Masters Games in Abu Dhabi, Belarusians will contend for medals in athletics events, including various distance races, high jump, long jump, hammer throw, and shot put. The Belarusian delegation includes students from the Glusk Children’s Social Boarding Home Vesnovo. This is a social service institution for children with disabilities and young adults with special psychophysical development needs. Brothers Oleg and Aleksandr Medovsky, Anna Pestova, Alesya Poznyak, and Grigory Dyuvbakov will take to the sporting arenas. Their coach, Aleksandr Petrov, has been actively promoting the ideals of Special Olympics for over 30 years. Despite life’s challenges, these individuals remain open, disciplined, and incredibly positive - a shining example of how hard work and a coach’s support can turn dreams into world-class medals. Belarusians are competing at these events thanks to the long-term cooperation between the Presidential Sports Club and the Belarusian Special Olympics Committee.
The Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi 2026 is the largest multi-sport event of its kind. It involves over 25,000 athletes from more than 120 countries, who will compete for medals in 33 sports. Among these are football, basketball, volleyball, rugby, athletics, swimming, cycling, tennis, badminton, judo, karate, Muay Thai, sailing regattas, and canoe races.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has convened a meeting with the Council of Ministers, BelTA has learned.
Key items on the agenda are the work of crisis managers and new measures to safeguard workers against wage arrears.
Discussing the issue of settling organizational insolvency, Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that a new law in this sector was adopted two years ago, which had been discussed several times at the presidential level. “We changed our approaches to the procedures, shifting the emphasis from bankruptcy to rehabilitation and the preservation of enterprises, and consequently, jobs. Report on how the innovations of that law have impacted the reduction of loss-making in the economy,” the Belarusian leader said. “Are there any bottlenecks identified in practice that should be eliminated to further prevent bankruptcy?”
In this connection, the Belarusian leader focused on the institution of crisis managers. “I would like the speaker on this issue, the economy minister, to report to us on where this phenomenon came from in Belarus, what it means. And most importantly, why we need it. After all, this is a new phenomenon in independent Belarus,” the head of state addressed the meeting participants. “What effect have we got from these very crisis managers?”
A draft decree to guarantee compensation for completed work has been submitted for consideration. “It would seem that a clear system has been built in the country, thanks to which everyone receives payment for their work,” the president said. “If we promised something and didn’t pay, where is a person supposed to go, how are they supposed to protect their interests here? They are forced to go to court, find money for it, taking away from family and children, get stressed, waste time, and so on.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko sought clarity on how the decree would integrate with pending parliamentary bills designed to strengthen accountability for wage arrears.
Scientists from Belarus and Russia are developing innovations to enhance the lifespan of spacecraft, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) Vladimir Karanik told the media prior to a NASB meeting to discuss the Union State programs, BelTA has learned.
“Today, we are taking stock of the programs in 2025 and discussing prospects for 2026–2030. I can say that we approached this meeting with strong results. Currently, we are running the Union State programs focusing on the most pressing issues in scientific, technological, and innovative activities. These include microelectronics and photonics, space exploration research, and biotechnology. While concrete hardware products for space research, microelectronics, and photonics have already been launched into orbit, the Union-Biomembranes program is expected to yield significant achievements in medicine and other fields," Vladimir Karanik emphasized.
It is important to give a push and accelerate the development of interregional cooperation between Belarus and Kazakhstan, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerlan Koshanov in Minsk on 5 February, BelTA has learned.
The head of state noted that the development of interregional ties is also a focus for MPs in both countries. Furthermore, Belarus and Kazakhstan are preparing to hold a thematic forum on interregional cooperation. Aleksandr Lukashenko generally supported this idea and pointed out that both Belarus and Russia have experience of holding similar forums and so does Kazakhstan with Russia. In his view, such a forum is necessary to spur interregional cooperation.
The president also proposed more actively involving leaders of the local executive branches in both countries to stimulate regional-level ties. “Both our and your regional governors have considerable authority. We need to integrate them into this process,” he said.
As part of the comprehensive inspection of the combat readiness of Belarus’ Armed Forces a combat shakedown of army units made up of people subject to military service is taking place in a military training area, representatives of the Belarusian Defense Ministry told BelTA.
Leonid Kasinsky, the Defense Minister’s Aide for Ideological Work in the Armed Forces, Chief of the Central Office for Ideological Work at the Defense Ministry, went to the military training area. He talked to the conscripts and was made familiar with the accommodations available to the personnel.
“People are motivated and focus on fulfilling their missions. It is the key. I haven’t heard any complaints from anyone. The people are fully satisfied with the conditions and with the accommodations available in the military training area. They are constantly busy training in the field. And certainly, it inspires confidence that our country has nothing to fear with this kind of people subject to military service,” the officer said. “I remember when in the early 2000s the first people subject to military service were recalled to active service after a lengthy period of no inspections in the Armed Forces. The mood of the conscripts and actions of the officers in that period were incomparable to what we have now. The officers that have been recalled from the reserve confidently accomplish the missions assigned to their units. The personnel, soldiers, and sergeants are adults, serious people. Certainly, some of the guys finished their military service two years ago. At the same time one can feel from the very first days that this team, that this collective is capable of accomplishing any task.”
“And the key thing is that they understand that these surprise inspections are just necessary in the conditions that evolve around our country today. The people understand that nobody else can defend their families and loved ones, their homes, their own country,” Leonid Kasinsky added.
He also remarked upon the attitude of the families of the people subject to military service to the organization of such training sessions: “Certainly, the wives worried for the first few days. Several days later in phone calls things were explained to the families. Everyone showed understanding. There are no problems. Apart from that, we have a hotline. Wives and mothers of any person subject to military service can call it and formulate their problems. There were no calls in the last few days. It is a clear testimony of the fact that the families have the right attitude to those, who defend their own country.”
On the morning of 4 February Belarusian President Aleksnadr Lukashenko heard a report from Emergencies Minister Vadim Sinyavsky on the national situation amid intensifying frosts and on the emergency response to the prevailing weather conditions, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian leader.
The head of state was primarily interested in the performance of heat and water supply systems, first of all for housing, economic facilities, and agriculture. One of the main tasks is ensuring the prompt elimination of consequences in case of emergencies. The president emphasized the coordinating role of the Emergencies Ministry among state bodies in this process.
As the emergencies minister reported, all issues related to eliminating the consequences of accidents at heat supply facilities across the country have been resolved. Addressing these accidents typically took no more than a day (except for the damage to a heating main in Minsk).
At the invitation of the House of Representatives, a parliamentary delegation from Kazakhstan, led by Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerlan Koshanov, is paying an official visit to Belarus on 4-5 February, BelTA learned from the press service of the House of Representatives.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Igor Sergeyenko met the delegation at the airport.
Kazakhstan’s MPs are set to hold a series of meetings and negotiations, to tour enterprises and to visit the memorial sites associated with the Great Patriotic War.
We need a step-by-step anti-crisis plan for Vitebsk Oblast, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting to discuss the social and economic development of Vitebsk Oblast, BelTA has learned.
“A step-by-step anti-crisis plan is needed. A clear, specific, and achievable one,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded everyone that a large-scale meeting on the social and economic development of Vitebsk Oblast was held in October 2025. He noted that the situation in the region is more challenging than in others, but other regions should not become complacent. “What we see in Vitebsk Oblast is characteristic of all regions. I want you to hear this and convey it to every governor,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
Belarusian Education Minister Andrei Ivanets and Russian Science and Higher Education Minister Valery Falkov signed an intergovernmental agreement on the conditions of the Belarus-Russia University (BRU) operation. The ceremony was held via videoconference, the press service of the Belarusian Education Ministry told BelTA.
The agreement marks a new stage in the education and science development of the Belarus-Russia Union State. BRU is a major regional research and educational center to train engineers for the real sector of the economy. Around 5,000 students study at the university across 28 Belarusian and 15 Russian academic programs. On 19 January 2026, the university celebrated its 25th anniversary. It looks confidently to the future.
The document will expand the training of highly qualified specialists for the economies of both countries, develop networked educational programs (projects are already underway with Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Belarusian State Technological University, and other universities). It will also strengthen scientific and technical cooperation, including projects in additive technologies, robotics, and industrial AI, and create conditions for new laboratories and competence centers.
BRU continues its transformation into an international center for integrating education, science, and digital technologies, aimed at ensuring the technological independence of Belarus and Russia.
Photo courtesy of Belarus' Education Ministry
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has expressed political support for Brazil’s incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in connection with the upcoming election in the country. The head of state made this statement during a meeting with Brazil’s Ambassador to Belarus Bernard Klingl on 2 February, BelTA has learned.
“Brazil is going through an important political period. As far as I know, this year you will hold general elections, where you will elect practically everyone. Frankly speaking, I do not envy you, because this is a challenging time. We sincerely hope that the current president of Brazil will remain in office following these elections. To my knowledge, he has confirmed his participation,” the head of state said.
“If necessary, we will do our utmost to ensure that the elections in Brazil take place in a peaceful and calm atmosphere, in the interests of the Brazilian people. If that is required,” the Belarusian president assured.
