European Parliament ready to support Belarusian people.

STRASBOURG, January 18 (Itar-Tass) - The European Parliament President
Jerzy Buzek has called on the world community to show solidarity with the
people of Belarus after the authorities cracked down on an opposition
protest on December 19, 2010.
Buzek told the organization's plenary session on Monday that Belarus
was the European Union's neighbour and that the EU was ready to support
the aspirations of the people of Belarus for democracy and freedom.
This week, the European Parliament is holding parliamentary debates
and is to vote on a resolution that will impose sanctions against
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and other high-ranking
officials, such as visa restrictions and the freezing of bank accounts of
the aforesaid persons in the EU countries.
Earlier, the European Parliament president and the heads of key
political groups adopted a joint statement that urges the EU to increase
manifold financial assistance to civil society institutions in Belarus.

.Russian tourists stranded in Tunisia to return home.

MOSCOW, January 18 (Itar-Tass) -Seventy-eight Russian tourists
stranded in riot-stricken Tunisia are returning home on Tuesday. The
Nouvelair air company will fly them to Moscow's Domodedovo airport at
23:30 Moscow time.
"A regular Nouvelair flight BJ 400 will leave the Tunisian capital at
17:00 local time (19:00 Moscow time) and will land at Domodedovo airport
at 23:30 Moscow time," Oleg Moseyev, the press service chief of the
Russian Committee for Tourism, told Itar-Tass.
The first flight organized by Transaero delivered 240 Russian
tourists, including five children, from Tunisia to Moscow last night.
Foreign tourists are leaving Tunisia because of riots and mass
disturbances that have swept the country. The Tunisian authorities have
declared a state of emergency in the capital and other cities after strong
anti-government protests. Seventy-eight people died and another 98 were
wounded in a rebellion that had brought down President Zine El Abidine Ben
Ali and a wave of violence that followed his ousting.
The Express-tour tourist company has announced that it's ready to sell
tickets to Tuesday's flight not only to tourists who are remaining in
Tunisia but also to those who live and work in the country if they wish to
leave.

.President Yanukovich to travel to Japan to discuss investments.

KIEV, January 18 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich
will on Tuesday begin an official visit to Japan to discuss the
possibility of attracting Japanese investments and technologies needed for
the modernization of Ukrainian economy. The head of state will meet
Japanese Emperor Akihito and will hold talks with Prime Minister Naoto Kan
and the leadership of the Japanese parliament, the Ukrainian president's
press service reports.
Yanukovich will deliver a speech at the headquarters of the Japan
Business Federation. On January 19-21, he will visit the cities of Kyoto
and Osaka to discuss prospects of inter-regional cooperation. The
president will speak about the situation in Ukraine and its foreign policy
priorities at the Kyoto University.
A package of documents, including a joint statement on
Ukrainian-Japanese global partnership, is to be signed.
Ukreximbank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation will sign
an agreement for opening a second credit line.
In 2005, they agreed on a credit worth 50 million dollars for
retooling Ukrainian enterprises. The same year, a Japanese bank reserved
about 180 million dollars for expanding the central Borispol airport in
Kiev.
The two countries will consider the implementation of major joint
projects, including within the framework of preparations for the final
part of the 2012 European football championships that is to be held in
Ukraine and cooperation in overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant accident.
Japan is Ukraine's third biggest creditor after Russia and Germany.
As of November 30, 2010 Ukraine's debt to Japan ran up to 142 million
dollars.

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