Belarus is drawing strong international condemnation, following this week's crackdown against independent media and peaceful demonstrators in the former Soviet republic.

The 2008 price of Russian natural gas for Belarus could be around $125 per 1,000 cubic meters, 25% more than the current rate, a deputy Russian industry and energy minister said on Friday.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko proposed that Russia start to build a second leg of a pipeline delivering natural gas to Europe, and offered free transit for five years.

President of Belarus said Thursday that the construction on the country’s first nuclear power plant would be begun in 2008. Alexander Lukashenko said the plant would help guarantee the ex-Soviet republic's national security.

Police in Belarus today detained a group of opposition activists for staging an unlawful protest. The activists were demonstrating outside a courthouse in the town of Baranovichi to protest against the prosecution of a fellow activist, who is on trial for belonging to an unregistered group, Youth Front.

The European Commission has condemned the latest wave of arrests of opposition figures in Belarus. A commission spokeswoman also rejected Minsk's recent offer of deeper economic cooperation with Europe, saying Belarus must first initiate democratic reforms.

A member of the Dubai royal family Sheikh Sayyid bin Maktoum al-Maktoum has married a waitress, who worked in a hotel in the capital of Belarus, Minsk, the prince's manager said Tuesday.

Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Voronetski has challenged the European Union over its policy toward his country. Speaking at a European Neighborhood Policy conference in Brussels as an observer, Voronetski told diplomats from the 27 EU and 16 neighborhood countries that the EU needed the cooperation of Belarus.

The higher price Belarus pays Russia for natural gas is beginning to have an effect on the country's economy. On average, the prices of foodstuffs have risen by around 4 percent. The prices of fares on public transport have also risen.

The head of the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee has said Russia currently has no plans to deploy nuclear weapons beyond its territory, characterizing suggestions that Belarus could host nuclear-related weaponry as "theoretical."

Belarus has fully paid its July bill for Russian gas deliveries, Beltransgaz company said.

Belarus has fully paid its $460 million debt for Russian natural gas supplies, ending a dispute between the country and Gazprom [RTS: GAZP], the state-controlled gas giant said Wednesday.