World News

Lithuania govt readies support for companies hit by sanctions on Belarus

The Lithuanian government stands ready to provide support to its enterprises as they get hit by European sanctions on Belarus, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on Monday. Outraged at the forced…

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EU reaches deal on Belarus economic sanctions, according to Austria, diplomats

The European Union is set to ban new loans to Belarus after reaching a deal on Friday for economic sanctions on Minsk as punishment for forcing down a flight to…

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Russia removes Belarus opposition politician Tsikhanouskaya from wanted list – RIA

Russian police have removed Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya from their wanted list at the initative of the Belarusian authorities, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday. Tsikhanouskaya fled into exile last…

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Belarus introduces prison sentences for taking part in protests

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday signed into law prison sentences for people taking part in protests or insulting state officials, part of an unprecedented crackdown by the veteran leader…

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UPDATED: EU to ban Belarus overflights from midnight

European Union ambassadors on Friday adopted a plan to ban Belarus airlines from flying over EU territory or landing in EU airports, three diplomats said. The decision is part of…

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Opposition decries ‘hostage’ video as Belarus airs confession of detained journalist

Detained journalist Roman Protasevich appeared on Belarusian state television on Thursday, tearfully confessing to his role in anti-government protests in an interview which the opposition said was made under duress.…

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Belarusian prisoner tries to cut own throat in court hearing

A Belarusian prisoner detained in a crackdown on protests tried to cut his own throat during a court hearing on Tuesday after being told his family and neighbours faced prosecution…

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Belarusian opposition leader believes blogger tortured

Belarus's leading opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Monday that detained blogger Roman Protasevich had been beaten and tortured in jail. A lawyer who visited Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega said he was…

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Russia vows to defend Belarus if EU sanctions Minsk

Russia will defend Belarus and help it if the European Union imposes economic sanctions on Minsk over the grounding of a plane and arrest of a dissident blogger, the RIA…

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Death threats and arrests: Belarus opposition media struggles at home and abroad

In an elegant apartment building in central Warsaw flying a red and white flag from its first floor balcony, a symbol of the Belarusian opposition, remnants of the anti-government media…

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U.S. to re-impose sanctions on Belarus firms over plane incident

The Biden administration said on Friday it is drawing up a list of targeted sanctions against key members of the Belarusian government following the former Soviet republic's forced landing of…

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Putin offers Belarus leader support against West in Ryanair plane standoff

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday offered his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko support in his standoff with the West over his handling of the grounding of a passenger jet and the arrest of a dissident blogger. The West has accused Belarus of piracy…

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UPDATED: Ryanair says Belarus refused pilot’s request to contact airline, Lithuania trying to identify those disembarked in Minsk

Belarusian air traffic control refused a request by a Ryanair pilot to contact the airline after being told of an alleged bomb threat, leaving him with no alternative but to…

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UPDATED: Russia to allow European flights to bypass Belarus, Ukraine to ban Belarus airlines from its airspace

Russia will allow European flights to arrive and depart via routes that bypass Belarusian airspace, the RBC news outlet reported late on Thursday, despite Moscow previously denying access to two…

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FBI and Poland have launched inquiries into Belarus plane, says Lithuanian police chief

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Poland have launched their own inquiries into the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Belarus, the chief of Lithuania's criminal police said…

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Diplomats say Turkey pushed NATO allies into softening outrage over Belarus plane

Turkey pushed NATO allies into watering down an official reaction to the forced landing by Belarus of a passenger plane and the detention of a dissident journalist on Sunday, two…

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U.N. aviation body to probe Belarus plane grounding, first report due by June 25

The United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreed to investigate the forced grounding of a Ryanair passenger plane in Minsk, an incident that prompted international outrage. ICAO's 36-nation governing…

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Detained journalist broke his own rule – Never fly over Belarus, says friend

Roman Protasevich, the Belarusian journalist jailed after his plane was forced to land on Sunday, had decided to avoid flying over Belarus because of the risk of being intercepted but…

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UPDATED: Email bomb threat sent after blogger’s plane was diverted over Belarus -Swiss email provider

Privacy-focused email provider Proton Technologies AG said on Thursday that a bomb threat cited by Belarusian authorities as the reason for diverting a Ryanair jet carrying a journalist and blogger…

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UPDATED: Belarusian flag carrier Belavia cancels flights to eight countries

Belarusian national flag carrier Belavia said on Thursday it had been forced to cancel flights to eight countries from May 27 to Oct. 30 due to flight bans. The European…

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UPDATED: EU to slap sanctions on financial transactions of Belarus, Germany says

Proposed European Union economic sanctions on Belarus will hit financial transactions by the country, Germany said on Thursday. "It is clear that we will not be satisfied with small sanctions…

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Belarusian plane turns back after warning about French airspace

A Belarusian passenger plane flying from Minsk to Barcelona turned back on Wednesday, data from website Flightradar24 showed, after Poland said it may not be able to enter French airspace.…

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UPDATED: Belarus leader denies having known arrested blogger was on board flight

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Wednesday that he had not known that dissident blogger Roman Protasevich was on board the flight that was diverted to Minsk but that he…

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UPDATED: Europe regulator urges airlines to avoid Belarus over safety

Europe's aviation regulator on Wednesday urged all airlines to avoid Belarus airspace for safety reasons, saying the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight had put in question the country's ability…

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Airlines re-route to avoid Belarus, opposition says journalist beaten

Airlines re-routed flights to avoid Belarus's airspace on Tuesday and Belarusian planes faced a possible ban from Europe, as international outrage mounted over Minsk forcing down a jetliner and arresting…

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EU air traffic agency eyes Baltic routes for flights shunning Belarus

European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol said on Tuesday approximately a 100 flights by EU and British carriers fly over Belarus every day and it would be best for them to re-route…

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EU leaders agree to pile more sanctions on Belarus over Ryanair incident

European Union leaders agreed to impose more sanctions on Belarus, including economic ones, called on their airlines to avoid the former Soviet republic's airspace and authorised work to ban Belarusian airlines from…

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Frankfurt bound Lufthansa flight from Minsk forced to late departure due to ‘threat of terrorist attack’

A Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt from Minsk airport was suspended due to the threat of an imminent terrorist act. This was stated by the press service of the airport quoted…

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UPDATED: Russia calls West’s reaction to Belarus plane incident ‘shocking’, France discussing suspension of Belarus transport links

Russia on Monday accused the West of hypocrisy in its outraged response to the diversion of an airliner to the Belarusian capital Minsk. Belarusian authorities scrambled a fighter jet and…

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UPDATED: EU calls for international inquiry into forced landing of Ryanair plane

The European Union has called for an international investigation into the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk. "In carrying out this coercive act, the Belarusian authorities have jeopardised…

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Global aviation stunned by Belarus jetliner diversion

The United Nations' aviation agency said it was "strongly concerned" by the apparent forced landing of a Ryanair jetliner in Belarus, as global airlines called for an investigation into Sunday's…

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Who is the journalist Belarus arrested by forcing a Ryanair plane to land?

Authorities in Belarus scrambled a fighter jet and flagged what turned out to be a false bomb alert to force a Ryanair plane to land on Sunday and then detained…

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UPDATE – Lithuania calls for joint EU action to keep planes out of Belarus airspace

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a Ryanair flight carrying a key opposition blogger and headed for Lithuania to land in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Sunday and detained him on…

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Lukashenko to amend emergency transfer of presidential power – Belta

MOSCOW, April 24 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he will sign a decree allowing the transfer of presidential power to the security council if he were to become…

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Belarus investigates opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya for terrorism

The Belarus prosecutor's office has opened a criminal case against opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, the Belta news agency said on Monday, citing prosecutor…

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Belarus president names two former ministers as possible successors

KYIV (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday named a former interior minister and a former health minister as possible successors but added that only elections could determine who…

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Belarusian opposition leader expects new wave of protests

HELSINKI, March 3 (Reuters) - Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya expects mass protests against veteran President Alexander Lukashenko to start up again in the spring and to be more organised than…

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EU may impose more sanctions on Belarus, says Polish foreign minister

The European Union may impose further sanctions on Belarus after Minsk jailed two journalists for filming protests, Poland's state news agency PAP quoted Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau as saying…

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U.S. hits dozens of Belarusians with visa restrictions for undermining democracy

The United States imposed visa restrictions on 43 Belarusians, including high-ranking justice officials and other government personnel, accusing them of undermining democracy in Belarus. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said…

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Two journalists jailed for two years in Belarus for filming protests

A Belarusian court sentenced two Belarusian journalists from Poland-based TV news channel Belsat to two years in prison on Thursday, after authorities arrested them for live filming protests against President…

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Lukashenko launches a “People’s Assembly”

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko launched a “People’s Assembly” of 2,700 delegates, most of them allies, on Thursday which he says will discuss political reforms but opponents see as a sham…

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Lithuanian president nominates Belarus opposition leader for Nobel prize – sources

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has nominated Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya for the Nobel Peace Prize, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday. Nauseda…

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Belarus opposition leader calls on West for tougher response on Lukashenko

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union and the United States must be "braver and stronger" in their response to helping end the disputed rule of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, opposition…

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Pope accepts resignation of Belarus archbishop who angered Lukashenko

Pope Francis on Sunday accepted the resignation of the head of the Catholic Church in Belarus, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, who spent time in exile last year after angering President Alexander…

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Belarus to allow exiled archbishop to return home

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has decided to allow Minsk’s exiled Catholic archbishop to return home after a personal appeal from Pope Francis, the Vatican’s embassy in Minsk said. Archbishop Tadeusz…

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Belarus Opposition leader awarded Sakharov Human Rights Prize

Belarus' opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya,who was forced into exile following the presidential election in August, poses with the Sakharov human rights prize during the award ceremony at European Parliament in…

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More than 130 anti-Lukashenko protesters detained in Belarus – rights group

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Police in Belarus detained 135 demonstrators at a Sunday march, the Belarusian rights group Viasna-96 (Spring-96) said, as weekly protests demanding the resignation of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko…

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Swiss freeze assets of Belarus leader Lukashenko

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland has frozen the financial assets of the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, following the violent aftermath of the elections in the east European country. Lukashenko and…

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Hundreds detained as thousands of anti-Lukashenko protesters march in Belarus

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Thousands of demonstrators marched in the Belarus capital Minsk and elsewhere on Sunday as weekly protests demanding the resignation of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko continued, prompting police…

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Lukashenko’s repression no longer working in Belarus, winner of ‘alternative Nobel Prize’ says

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - President Alexander Lukashenko's attempts to stifle opposition in Belarus through violent repression are no longer working, giving life to a popular uprising against his rule, leading human…

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Belarus leader says he will quit when a new constitution is adopted

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that he would step down as president once a new constitution is adopted and proposed curbing presidential powers as part of the reforms,…

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Dozens detained in Belarus protests – rights group

Belarus police detained dozens of people in Minsk on Sunday during the latest in months of anti-government protests since a disputed presidential election in August, human rights activists reported. Thousands…

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With applause and flowers, thousands attend funeral of Belarusian protester

Thousands of people silently raised their arms in the air, held flowers aloft and broke into chants outside a church in Minsk on Friday at the funeral of a Belarusian…

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Belarus nuclear power plant restarts after equipment replaced

Belarus has resumed operations at a nuclear power plant inaugurated earlier this month by President Alexander Lukashenko, the Ministry of Energy said in a statement on Thursday, following the replacement…

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Belarus police arrest dozens in street protests on Sunday

Police in Belarus on Sunday arrested dozens of people in Minsk demonstrating against Alexander Lukashenko, leader of the ex-Soviet country, a witness said and several media outlets reported. The witness…

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Death of Belarus protester sparks unrest and threat of more EU sanctions

Thousands of people took to the streets of Minsk and other Belarusian cities on Friday, after a 31-year-old anti-government protester died in hospital following what demonstrators said was a severe…

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Belarus security services detain hundreds of protesters in the capital

Hundreds of people were reportedly detained in Minsk on Sunday in the latest anti-government protests since a disputed August election returned Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to power. After an initial…

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