Belarus

President Aleksandr Lukashenko ordered things to be put right in the sports clubs as soon as possible, after hearing a report on the state and prospects of Belarusian football

The Minsk metro transported 234 million passengers in 2023, +8 million (or 3,5%) compared to 2022; in 2023, the metro improved energy efficiency by 3,9%, exceeding the energy saving target of 3,4% in 2023

President Lukashenko said he and Vladimir Putin discussed joint Russian-Belarusian initiatives in Africa

Digital sick notes could be introduced in Belarus in 2024-2025, to strengthen citizens' social rights, reduce employer errors and help employers and the Social Protection Fund calculate and pay sickness benefits

Current Time, a Russian-language network operated by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, has been added to the register of extremist organisationsa in a frame of ongoing repression of independent media and civil society by Belarusian authorities

A new law granting himself permanent immunity from criminal prosecution has been signed by President Lukashenko; it also prevents opposition leaders living in exile from running in future presidential elections

For the New Year's Eve performance in the Palace of the Republic in the presence of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Palestinian children have been invited

The output of import-substituting goods in 2023 is expected to amount to $29 billion; two years ago it was about $26-27 billion and next year it is set to exceed $30 billion

Belarus, together with Russia, has been excluded from the 37 countries that will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest scheduled to take place in Malmö, Sweden, in May 2024

President Lukashenko signed Decree No. 375 "On the Proclamation of 2024 Year of Quality"

Vitebsk's carpet exports increased by 16,7% year-on-year to USD 33 million in the period from January to October 2023; 86,3% of the products were shipped to Russia

Six Supreme Court judges, in addition to the heads of the Gomel Oblast Court and the economic courts of the Vitebsk Oblast and the city of Minsk, were appointed by a decree signed by President Lukashenko

Authorities would be abusing anti-terrorism and anti-extremism legislation to further purge civic space, suppress freedom of expression and eradicate political opposition, according to Anaïs Marin, Special Rapporteur on human rights in Belarus