Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

An authorized body will be set up in Belarus to protect personal data, Andrei Pavlyuchenko, the Head of the Operations and Analysis Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus, told the media following the meeting with the head of state, BelTA has learned.

At the meeting, Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that in May 2021 a law was adopted to protect people's rights while processing their personal data. “The government and the Operations and Analysis Center believe that a separate authority should be set up to supervise the observance of this law,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. He stressed that the issues of personal data protection are important for the society and urged to solve the problems in this area. "People are concerned about this," the head of state stated.

Andrei Pavlyuchenko informed the president about the results of the preparatory analysis and suggested the options in this regard, including taking into account international practice.

“The law on personal data protection comes into force on 15 November, and the president supported the initiative of the Operations and Analysis Center to set up an authorized government body to be directly responsible for these issues. In our opinion, it is a step forward. In today's world, protection of any information is the cornerstone of public safety. This does not mean, however, that we will solve all the relevant problems tomorrow,” Andrei Pavlyuchenko said.

The new body will be called as the national personal data protection center. It will be responsible, among other things, for lawmaking in the area, raising awareness about the importance of personal data protection.

“This body will operate autonomously and independently and will cooperate freely with public and private entities. It will monitor the circulation of personal data, its legality, and compliance with rules and regulations,” said Andrei Pavlyuchenko.

The national personal data protection center will be authorized to hold violators of the legislation accountable.

Written by  belta.by

The Brest Oblast Union of Trade Unions and the Federation of Trade Unions of Russia's Rostov Oblast signed a cooperation agreement, BelTA learned from the press service of the regional association.

The Rostov delegation came to Brest with this purpose. Actually, two regional trade union organizations of Belarus and Russia extended the agreement of 2017, making certain adjustments and additions to it. In particular, the parties intend to strengthen work at the level of sectoral trade unions. They are set to exchange experience on topical trade union problems online and in person in the post-COVID period.

"Unfortunately, the negative processes that developed in the Russian economy at the turn of the 2000s weakened a number of our sectoral trade unions. First of all, they affected the agricultural sector and construction and created certain difficulties in protecting the legal and socio-economic interests of workers. Brest Oblast has retained a fairly large trade union membership and this experience is important to us," said Aleksandr Lozychenko, Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Rostov Oblast.

The new agreement also focuses on the possibility of mutual use of health resorts of trade unions. The parties also agreed to coordinate their actions and positions in international matters, and if necessary, to provide legal and other assistance to members of trade unions of the other country on their territory.

"International cooperation is important for Belarusian trade unions. We are always ready to learn from others and to share our experience in a variety of areas. We have long-standing contacts with Rostov Oblast, and we will strengthen them. I am sure that the cooperation will be fruitful," Chairman of the Brest Oblast Association of Trade Unions Mikalai Shum noted.

Written by belta.by

The defense ministries of Belarus and Russia held a session of the joint collegium in Moscow on 20 October, BelTA learned from the Defense Ministry.

“The decisions adopted at today's meeting are aimed at advancing cooperation between the defense ministries of Belarus and Russia and will contribute to bolstering military security of the Union State. Priority will be given to the regional grouping of troops of the Armed Forces of Belarus and Russia, as well as joint military systems,” the ministry said.

Operational and combat training will remain an important area of bilateral cooperation. The largest event will be a joint exercise Union Shield which is due to take place in 2023.

In order to develop cooperation in state aviation safety, the defense ministries will prepare proposals to improve procedures for exchanging information about risk factors to aircraft. The parties will continue cooperation in radiation, chemical and biological protection, electronic warfare, and also topo-geodetic and navigational support.

The parties reviewed the work done since 2018 to improve military infrastructure facilities planned for joint use to support the regional grouping of troops.

Written by belta.by

More than 1,500 haulers were queuing in Belarus to cross the border with the European Union as of 8.00 on 19 October, BelTA learned from the website of the State Border Committee.

Over 150 trucks were queuing at the Belarus-Latvia border at the Grigorovshchina checkpoint and more than 200 at Urbany.

More than 150 heavy-duty trucks were waiting to cross the border with Lithuania at the Vidzy checkpoint, 230 at Kotlovka, more than 230 at Kamenny Log, over 20 at Benyakoni, and over 210 at Privalka.

Over 140 trucks were waiting to cross the Belarus-Poland border at the Bruzgi, more than 200 at Kozlovichi.

Written by belta.by

WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told the STV TV channel on 17 October why the Sputnik V vaccine was not registered in Europe yet, BelTA has learned.

“I have just discussed this matter with the Minister of Health [of Russia] Mikhail Murashko who attended the meeting of the CIS Healthcare Cooperation Council. We had kept in touch with him before, because the Russian Federation is a very important member of our organization. As far as I understood, the problem is that the technical file for the vaccine registration is not ready yet. However, Russia has a fairly high manufacturing, intellectual and technical potential. Once this technical file is finalized, the vaccine can be registered,” Hans Kluge said.

He noted that he had been vaccinated with the vaccine prescribed in Denmark. “Because I live in Denmark. Basically, I would get vaccinated with any vaccine that would be prescribed to me,” he said.

Hans Kluge noted that there are already enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone who wants it. “We can feel safe only when at least 80-85% of the population gets vaccinated,” he said.

Written by belta.by

The World Health Organization (WHO) is interested in advancing relations with Belarus to a brand-new level, WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said as he met with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 14 October, BelTA has learned.

“Thank you very much for the opportunity to meet with you. This is a very important moment for me. The main objective for me is to advance our relations to a brand-new level,” he said.

Hans Kluge remarked that a new cooperation plan for 2022-2023 was signed with the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry on 14 October. “Indeed, I agree with you that this is a moment of opportunity because the healthcare minister is now a member of the executive committee of our organization [WHO] and can influence the global structure of the organization in general. Like you said, health should be above politics. This is the main goal in my work,” the WHO official said.

In a conversation with journalists after the meeting with the Belarusian president Hans Kluge mentioned a number of aspects in the plan of cooperation. For example, one of them is the availability of medical services to the population, and Belarus is doing well in this field. “This can be attributed to the country's successful efforts to preserve the healthcare basis from the Soviet times and to improve its quality,” the WHO representative said.

The sides are also going to continue joint work to reduce prices for medications and to make them more accessible for the population. Belarus has already made certain progress in this area. It is important to join efforts to digitize medical services. The sides will also focus on raising the professional level of healthcare employees.

Hans Kluge deems it necessary to expand vaccination amid the pandemic, to guarantee access to different vaccines only on a voluntary basis. Instead of forcing people to get vaccinated, he believes, it is essential to work with leaders of certain social groups to encourage people to make a decision.

According to the WHO official, nine out of ten people in the region die from chronic diseases. Therefore, it is also necessary to continue working in this direction. Such diseases as tuberculosis, HIV, Hepatitis C remain on the agenda. Belarus was one of the first countries to get a certificate confirming the eradication of cases of HIV transmission from mother to child and congenital syphilis. “In this context, I would like to congratulate you on this great result. However, it is essential to maintain quality to meet the standards of this certificate,” Hans Kluge said.

Speaking about other goals of his visit to Belarus, he remarked that the WHO and the CIS countries have recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of cooperation. The WHO and the CIS Council for Cooperation in Healthcare have signed a memorandum.

Hans Kluge told Aleksandr Lukashenko that he wanted Belarus to be a leader in the promotion of ideas and medical practices in the CIS region. Hans Kluge mentioned the recent signing of a memorandum between the WHO and the Eurasian Economic Commission. “Eastern Europe is my geopolitical priority. This region is also very dear to my heart,” the WHO official concluded.

Written by belta.by

Belarus has reached a top regional position in the Integrated Index for Postal Development (2IPD) rankings 2021, BelTA learned from the website of the Belarusian postal service Belpochta.

“The new rankings covers 168 countries. Belarus has achieved impressive results and for the first time topped its regional group, placing 14th overall. Apart from Belarus, this regional group includes Eastern Europe and the CIS countries,” Belpochta said.

Belarus' index of postal development made up 67.4 points, which let the country move up six positions in the rankings compared to the previous year.

The Universal Postal Union annually issues a comprehensive index for postal development (2IPD). It is a composite index that gives a summary of postal development in any country or region based on four key components: reliability, reach, relevance and resilience. “These four components are aimed at providing a balanced view of postal development, without solely focusing on operational, strategic or societal matters. All the information collected and processed in this context establishes a global ranking published annually. The input is then integrated into an algorithm, which yields a general score between 0 and 100 for each assessed country. This enables the final score to comprehensively reflect the situation of postal services in any given geography,” Belpochta explained.

The Integrated Index for Postal Development (2IPD) helps ensure that postal sector players have all the information they need, thus forming the basis for the strategic and economic evaluation conducted by the Universal Postal Union.

Written by belta.by

Over 2,600 haulers were queuing in Belarus to cross the border with the European Union as of 6.00 on 11 October, BelTA learned from the website of the State Border Committee.

Over 100 trucks are queuing at the Belarus-Latvia border at the Grigorovshchina checkpoint and more than 200 at Urbany.

More than 200 heavy-duty trucks are waiting to cross the border with Lithuania at the Vidzy checkpoint, 360 at Kotlovka, more than 330 at Kamenny Log, over 270 at Benyakoni, and over 290 at Privalka.

Over 150 trucks are waiting to cross the Belarus-Poland border at the Bruzgi checkpoint, more than 150 at Berestovitsa, and over 550 at Kozlovichi.

Written by belta.by

At least 25,000 foreign students from more than 100 countries are enrolled in major and additional programs in Belarus, Belarusian Education Minister Igor Karpenko said during the plenary session of the international educational forum of foreign graduates of Belarusian (Soviet) and CIS universities, BelTA has leaned.

"The theme of the forum is consonant with the slogan of the Year of People's Unity declared in Belarus in 2021. Representatives of different ethnicities, religions and cultures have lived side by side in our country for centuries. This diversity has become the hallmark of Belarus and its unique heritage, which we try to preserve for the sake of peace and harmony in society, well-being and prosperity of future generations. The tolerant policy of the Belarusian government extends to cover education, which contributes towards expanding the geography of foreign students. In recent years, at least 25,000 people from more than 100 countries have been enrolled in major and additional programs in Belarusian universities. Most of them return to their countries and seek professional recognition there," Igor Karpenko said.

Belta

Some 7.3% of winter crops are left to plant in Belarus, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry.

As of the morning of 7 October, winter crops were sown on the area of 1.35 million hectares, which is 92.7% of the target area (1,456,100 hectares). The regional breakdown of the sowing progress is as follows: Brest Oblast (sowing complete), Minsk Oblast (324,300 hectares or 94.2%), Vitebsk Oblast (204,600 hectares or 88.5%), Grodno Oblast (189,900 hectares or 96.4%), Gomel Oblast (189,700 hectares or 79.7%), and Mogilev Oblast (206,800 hectares or 98.2%).

Grain and leguminous crops (including corn) have been harvested from 2.145 million hectares (90.9% of the target area). Some 6.616 million tonnes of grain have been threshed. Minsk Oblast is leading with more than 1.6 million tonnes threshed. It is followed by Brest Oblast - more than 1.2 million tonnes, Grodno Oblast - more than 1.1 million tonnes, Mogilev Oblast - 871,600 tonnes, Gomel Oblast – 835,600 tonnes, Vitebsk Oblast – 790,500 tonnes.

BELTA