July 27, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. The number of fires in the Vitebsk region decreased by 17% in the first half of the year, the press secretary of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Marina Fando, told a BELTA correspondent.

The anniversary season will open with a performance by Ksenia Pogorela, soloist of the concert hall, and the "Blagovest" academic choir from the Russian city of Tikhvin. The ensemble works in the traditions of the Russian choral school and upholds a high standard of performing arts. The choir has repeatedly become a laureate of competitions and festivals. The choir's repertoire includes Russian sacred music, choral miniatures, and works by Russian and foreign classical composers.

At an extraordinary session of the Sharkovshchina District Council of Deputies, Nikolai Bogovich was approved as the new chairman of the district executive committee. The deputies unanimously supported the candidacy proposed by the regional executive committee.

The results of the first city award among employers, announced by the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, the Association of Employers and Entrepreneurs, and the internet portal RabotaVitebsk.by, have been summarized.

The Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection informs about the holding of the republican competition for the best motor transport organization in reducing atmospheric air pollution for 2012.

More than 1,000 violations were detected by mobile groups during the sowing period in the Vitebsk region, the first deputy head of the Vitebsk regional department of the State Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Sergey Anufriev, told a BELTA correspondent.

Dear residents of the region! I sincerely congratulate you on the Labor Day! May 1st symbolizes unity around the ideas of peace and kindness, and promotes diligence as the main guideline for the well-being of society.

The Polotsk initiative group of elderly people with the active participation of "Soulful Meetings" is implementing the "Anti-aging" program to counteract age.

A special petition is read by the monks during the fraternal moleben daily at 7:00 AM before the Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God "Kazan" for 8 days. During the special petition, the names of those people who need a speedy recovery, for well-being in the family, for people suffering from the affliction of drunkenness, etc., for the increase of love, for those in captivity, and for the softening of evil hearts are commemorated.

The exhibition, featuring works by Martin Stranka, a professional photographer from the Czech Republic with a unique perspective on photographic art, is hosted at the Marc Chagall Art Center.

The Republic of Belarus will be represented at the exhibition-fair by leading enterprises and organizations operating in the fields of mechanical engineering, agriculture, food industry, consumer goods, etc. The presentation and sale of Belarusian products will be carried out by the JV "Belarusian-Turkmen Trade House" and dealers of Belarusian enterprises in Turkmenistan.