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Belarus praised Pope Francis’s peace efforts at his funeral and is strengthening Vatican ties.

Following consultations between the staff of the Belarusian Embassy in Egypt and their Omani counterparts, the authorities of the Sultanate of Oman officially confirmed that Belarusian citizens can obtain visas free of charge upon arrival in Oman, BelTA learned from the National Tourism Agency.

9 May parade rehearsals will be held in Minsk on 2 and 6 May, Lieutenant Colonel Denis Bilman, commander of the commandant battalion of the Minsk military commandant’s office, said in a new episode of BelTA’s Nation Speaks project.

About 1.1 million foreigners have visited Belarus over the three years since the launch of the visa-waiver program, BelTA learned from the State Border Committee of Belarus.

As many as 60,000 people have joined Belarus’ forest restoration campaign Bringing Forests Back to Life, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Forestry Ministry.

Belarusian air defense forces have destroyed 18 fixed-wing drones since the start of the year, Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Troops of Belarus Andrei Lukyanovich said on the air of the STV TV channel, BelTA has learned.

One of the most important documents — Directive No.12 «On implementing fundamental principles of the ideology of the Belarusian state» — was signed by the president of Belarus on 9 April. This is a much-anticipated document, primarily because there have been many discussions about what way to go and what guiding principles to use in the work on the ideological front. BelTA talked to Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Vladimir Pertsov about key points of the document.

A recent storm flattened many hectares of crops in the presidential field in Alexandria, but experts believe that the harvest will be manageable, particularly for Belarusian spring wheat varieties which performed well despite the extreme weather.