The city of over 1 million people has no subway or tram system, and its citizens are currently heavily reliant on taxis and minibuses.
A U.S. lawyer serving three years in a Belarussian jail for industrial espionage has begun a hunger strike to prompt authorities to review his case under a recent amnesty law, his lawyer has said.
As voters went to cast their ballots in European Parliament elections, RFE/RL spoke to British historian Timothy Garton Ash about the definition of Europe. Garton Ash explained how a common vision defines Europe as much as geography, and why the EU must stay true to its philosophy of expansion.
President Lukashenka said Israel is not an alien country to Belarusians because "tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of our compatriots are living there and their fates are important for us."
Belarus's president declared an end on May 29 to "begging" to Russia and told his government to ignore Moscow's decision to shelve a $500 million loan and turn elsewhere to find credits.
An activist of the Youth Front in the Belarusian city of Baranavichi has been expelled from the local university for his political activities, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service reports.
Russian Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin offered a harsh assessment of Belarus's economic prospects in the runup to a reportedly frosty meeting later the same day between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
In its latest report on the state of rights around the world, Amnesty International warns that many governments have failed abysmally to protect human rights, human lives, and livelihoods threatened by the economic downturn. The group also says the term "security" has been misused to undermine rights.
A final decision on the issue will be made at PACE's next meeting in Paris in June.
In the German city of Hamburg on May 25, 46 journalists and editors in chief from 19 countries signed the "European Charter on Freedom of the Press." The charter establishes basic guidelines for protecting the press from government interference and ensuring journalists access to sources of information. The document's creators hope the charter's adoption will become a condition in future EU accession negotiations.
Inspired by The Atlantic's mock "World Leaders" Facebook group, RFE/RL presents a Facebook-style summary of last week's events.
Despite talks of adopting the Russian rouble for trade, Minsk has been frustrated by what it sees as unequal access to Russian markets as both ex-Soviet countries grapple with the global economic downturn.
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![RFE/RL President Jamie Fly: "It is an outrage that this law targets [journalists'] work and jeopardizes their security in an attempt to silence them and deprive Russian citizens of their right to seek reliable information."](https://gdb.rferl.org/A1D7C4EB-FB44-4D9C-91CA-2D0355E89C9F_w100_r1.jpg)
![RFE/RL President Jamie Fly: "It is an outrage that this law targets [journalists'] work and jeopardizes their security in an attempt to silence them and deprive Russian citizens of their right to seek reliable information."](https://gdb.rferl.org/A1D7C4EB-FB44-4D9C-91CA-2D0355E89C9F_w33_r1.jpg)
