Belarus plans to build 4.2 million square meters of housing in 2022, Belarus' Architecture and Construction Minister Ruslan Parkhamovich said in an interview with Belarus 1 TV Channel, BelTA has learned.

“Our main task for next year is to build 1.2 million square meters of housing with state support. As for the total housing commissioning in 2022, the state program provides for the construction of 4.2 million square meters of housing, and we plan to fulfill this task,” Ruslan Parkhamovich said.

In January-September 2021, some three million square meters of housing has already been put into operation (the 2021 target is four million square meters). “We will meet the schedule and are currently going ahead of schedule. As for the construction of housing with state support, we have already fulfilled 90% of the task set for the year – 900,000 square meters have already been put into operation,” the minister said.

Source: БелТА

Employees of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Minsk region will conduct massive testing of local roads and rural settlements for four days. From October 22 to 25, inspectors in rural areas will pay special attention to pedestrians, the rules of their transportation, as well as drunk drivers.

Irina Sapunova, senior inspector of the propaganda agitation department of the Traffic Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Executive Committee, told the correspondent of MLYN.BY:

- The testing will be carried out in order to prevent road accidents, as well as the suppression of offenses by road users. Both traffic police officers and other public security police services participate in the events. Control on local roads will be public and unspoken.

Irina Sapunova noted that the priority is to identify violations that are the main causes of accidents with serious consequences.

These are violations on the part of vulnerable road users, especially at night, not giving an advantage to pedestrians, driving vehicles by drivers who are intoxicated and (or) do not have the right to drive, violations of speed limits, as well as rules for the carriage of passengers, especially minors.

Violators will be brought to justice in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

- Dear residents of the Minsk region, if you have information that a driver is driving a vehicle in a state of intoxication, or you see drunk pedestrians, cyclists on the roadway, report this to the traffic police on duty by phone: 8 (017) 229-04-44 or 102. The call is free, - said Irina Sapunova.

Source: Minsk-region.gov.by

During the visit to the Alexandrov National Cancer Center of Belarus, President Aleksandr Lukashenko was told that Belarus has built an efficient cancer care delivery system, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko asked how efficiently cancer services are delivered in Belarus, two decades after the country started building a cancer care delivery system with the involvement of the head of state.

The president was informed that Belarus managed not only to retain the existing system, but also to expand the cancer care delivery system. The system created in Belarus is in many respects unique and is of great interest for foreign healthcare professionals.

“We can be a role model for many countries in providing cancer care,” Sergei Polyakov, director of the center, noted.

“The system is up and running. This is important for me,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

It was noted that primary care visits declined amidst the pandemic, which affected cancer diagnosis rates. However, this is a global trend.

In general, the quality of cancer care in Belarus is among the best in the world across a number of parameters. New technologies and protocols are introduced, which helps significantly increase cancer survival rates and improve the quality of life.

The export of services – provision of cancer care to foreign patients – was also discussed. Cancer services are quite in demand among foreign nationals in Belarus.

In this regard, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that cancer services of the same quality are much more expensive in the West. “They charge you for every this and that, they rip you off. We do these surgeries no worse than they do,” he said.

The president also wondered what is the likelihood of developing some kind of universal cure for cancer. Sergei Polyakov noted that there are already effective drugs to treat some types of cancer that can prolong lives of even advanced cancer patients for another 5-7 years and help them retain a good quality of life. However, there is no universal cure.

Yet, Presidential Aide Aleksandr Kosinets is confident that such medicines might emerge in the future and the work on them is underway in the world.

The president also touched upon the topic of vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, the politicization of this issue in the world, and attempts to make big money on this problem. “Healthcare should be an absolutely international domain. You cannot take advantage of people's health [to make money], the president emphasized.

Speaking about cancer, Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed confidence that Belarusian scientists have the potential to make a breakthrough, which will be appreciated all over the world.

Source: БелТА

The situation with the coronavirus in Belarus is completely under control. The country is doing its utmost to prevent and stop the spread of the infection and treat people, Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich said at a meeting with the head of state, BelTA has learned.

The minister emphasized that a detailed analysis of the epidemiological situation in Belarus is being carried out and the necessary measures are being taken at all levels of government.

“I want to say without shedding tears and lamenting that the situation is totally under control, everything necessary is being done to prevent the spread of the disease, interrupt the transmission process and treat patients,” the minister said.

Speaking about the specific features of the current wave of the coronavirus infection, Dmitry Pinevich mentioned a sharp rise in cases; the healthcare system did not experience anything like that during the previous waves. “The neighboring countries, all countries, including in Europe, report a similar case growth,” the healthcare minister noted.

Source: БелТА

The profits of the Belarusian steel mill BMZ since the beginning of the year amounted to $170 million, BMZ Director General Dmitry Korchik told the STV TV channel on 17 October, BelTA informs.

“In January-September, the export of metal products in monetary terms increased 1.5 times, foreign currency revenue also rose 1.5 times. In August our monthly revenue was nearly record high - $180 million. We operate with a net profit: over the nine months our profits approximated $170 million. The return on sales is positive, accounts payable are reducing,” Dmitry Korchik said.

At the same time he admitted that 2020 was a very challenging year for the company because of the pandemic and consequently tough lockdowns in the European Union when the main consumers of BMZ products put their production on hold. “This seriously affected financial flows and orders. We had to adjust the schedule of work. Thanks to the professionalism and understanding of the entire team of the company, we managed to survive this year,” Dmitry Korchik said. As for the sanctions, he noted that due to certain actions taken by BMZ clients, the enterprise did not fall under the sanctions.

The Belarusian steel mill continues to implement the project to renovate a dust and gas collection unit. According to the director general, the project will improve the environmental situation both at the enterprise and in the region. “It is very relevant taking into account the fact that the European Union is considering the introduction of environmental duties specifically for producers of metallurgical products,” he said.

BMZ is a high-tech Belarusian metallurgical enterprise. It comprises infrastructure shops and four manufacturing divisions connected by one technological chain. The divisions focus on steel smelting, mill products, pipe products, hardware items. BMZ exports more than 80% of its output every year.

Source: БелТА