Belarus introduces five-day visa-free regime for 80 countries, including EU, USA

On January 9, Belarus president Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed the decree ‘On the introduction of the visa-free entry and departure for foreign citizens’.

The document introduces the visa-free entry through the border checkpoint at the Minsk National Airport and the visa-free stay in Belarus for up to 5 days for the citizens of 80 states, including the entire European Union, Brazil, Indonesia, the USA, Japan, state-run news agency BelTA reports with reference to the presidential press service.

First of all, these are favorable countries in terms of migration, Belarus’ strategic partners which have introduced visa-free regimes for Belarusian citizens on a unilateral basis.

The document aims to raise the number of business trips, tourism and private visits of people with regular passports and will not apply to foreigners on official trips with diplomatic, service, special and similar passports.

A valid passport or other document permitting foreign travels, money (equivalent to at least two base amounts (appr. $23) for each day of stay in the foreign currency or Belarusian rubles), medical insurance in the amount of at least €10,000 operational in Belarus will be needed for the visa-free entry.
The citizens of Vietnam, Haiti, Gambia, Honduras, India, China, Lebanon, Namibia, Samoa should also have a valid multi-visa to the EU states or the Schengen Area with a mark confirming the entry to their territory, plane tickets with a confirmation of the departure from the Minsk National Airport within 5 days after the date of the entry.
The visa-free regime does not apply to people arriving to Belarus by plane from Russia and planning to go to the airports of Russia (these are internal flights with no border control).

• Belarus government viewing visa-free regime for investors
• Polish Senate Speaker praises idea of visa-free travel between Belarus, Poland
• Belarus and Russia working on uniform visa

belsat.eu, following BelTA

Belarus raises transit tariffs for Russian crude oil

The government in Belarus has raised the tariffs for the transit of Russian crude oil via pipelines on the territory of Belarus, according to Resolution No 48 by the Minister for Anti-monopoly Regulation and Trade dated December 30, 2016, reports BELTA.
The new tariffs will be effective from February 1 through March 31, 2017.
The tariffs via Homieltransnafta Druzhba from Unieca (Vysokaje) - Adamava Zastava will be RUR20 higher from 267.32 up to 287.90 Russian roubles per ton (excl. VAT). The tariffs for the Unieca (Vysokaje) - Brody will grow by RUR9 from 114.82 up to 123.66.

eSports now officially sport discipline in Belarus

Computer games have officially become part of a healthy lifestyle, rivaling hockey.
Belarus Ministry of Justice has registered the Republican Public Association “Belarusian Federation of eSports”.
“This public association has been created for the purpose of development of e-sports in the Republic of Belarus, as part of the international sports movement and the training of citizens for life in the information society and a healthy lifestyle,” said the ministry.

“Pressball” commentator Andrei Vashkevich has called it a historical event: “This federation will very soon — already during our lives — will be the main one in Belarus”.
“It [the Federation] will develop what is really interesting to the masses (as opposed to hockey or football): what children know without schools, orders, parents or books,” said the expert.
ESports is a sport, based on the competition in the virtual space.
As in the usual sports, you can engage in e-sports at the amateur and professional levels — taking part in computer games tournaments.

Kilde:  http://belsat.eu/en/news/kibersport-u-belarusi-spartovaya-dystsyplina/

Poland’s govt spokesman: ‘New formula’ for Belsat TV

Rafał Bochenek, Spokesman for the Polish government, has commented on Thursday’s meeting of Prime Minister Beata Szydło and Belsat TV Director Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy.

“In the coming month, there will be no changes with respect to the TV channel” Belsat. During this time, a new compromise formula of the TV station’s further work will be developed,” the top official said.

According to Rafał Bochenek, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski ‘was never going to liquidate the TV channel’.

“Prime Minister is confident that given good will of each party, we will be able to create conditions for [existing of] the TV station which will be acceptable to all; the interests of Belsat TV viewers will be taken into account,” the spokesman stressed.

“I believe that you will share my joy over the news I want to spread: Prime Minister has assured me that there is no threat to Belsat TV. Over the next month the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Belsat TV will be establishing further principles of cooperation,” Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy said after Thursday’s meeting with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło.

In mid-December, Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy told portal Wpolityce.pl with reference to unofficial information that the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs intended to reduce reduce financing the television channel Belsat TV by 2/3 and stop its broadcast in the Belarusian language. On a practical level, such changes would mean the closure of Belsat, the only independent Belarusian-language TV channel, which has become a permanent support of public opinion and national identity of Belarusians.

• Quo vadis, Belsat TV? Channel’s Director interviewed by Polish media
• Belarus will be either independent or Russia’s – Belsat TV Director in interview with Radio Wnet
• What is ‘Belsat’ and how many Belarusians watch it?

On December 18, Witold Wazczykowski voiced the ministry’s plans of Belsat TV transition to a web mode and its journalists’ transfer to TVP Polonia.