Belarus

Belarus must stop putting people’s lives at risk, von der Leyen says

Yesterday evening, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the following statement on the situation at the border between Poland and Belarus: “Belarus must stop putting people's lives at risk. The instrumentalisation of…

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VIDEO: Hundreds of migrants remain at Poland-Belarus border as temperatures drop

Hundreds of migrants camped out near the Belarus border with Poland on Tuesday in freezing overnight temperatures as the Polish Prime Minister visited the border and officials warned tension could…

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Poland fears ‘major incident’ as migrants from Belarus head for border

Polish authorities accused Belarus of trying to spark a major confrontation on Monday as footage on social media showed hundreds of migrants walking towards the Polish border. In one video,…

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Poland says Belarusian soldiers threatened to fire at its troops

Belarusian soldiers threatened to open fire on Polish troops just across the border, the Polish Defence Ministry said, while Belarus summoned Poland's charge d'affaires amid a row over migrants on…

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Lithuania starts building first European wall to ward off migrants from Belarus

Lithuania has built the first stretches of a steel wall on its border with Belarus since migrants from the Middle East and other areas began entering from Belarus this year.…

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Poland says Belarus staged armed intrusion at border, summons envoy

WARSAW, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Poland accused Belarus of staging an armed cross-border intrusion and said on Wednesday it had summoned the Belarusian charge d'affaires to protest what it sees…

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Poland’s senate approves wall along Belarus border

Euronews - Poland's senate has approved a plan to build a €350 million wall along its border with Belarus to prevent migrants from illegally entering the country. The upper house…

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Poland almost doubles troop numbers on Belarus border

Almost 6,000 Polish soldiers are now guarding the country's border with Belarus in stepped up security measures in the face of a surge in migration, the defence minister said. The…

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French ambassador ordered out of Belarus – AFP

PARIS (Reuters) - France's ambassador has been ordered out of Belarus and has already left the country, the French news agency AFP reported on Sunday, citing the French embassy in…

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Poland passes legislation allowing migrant pushbacks at border

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's parliament passed legislation on Thursday that human rights advocates say aims to legalise pushbacks of migrants across its borders in breach of the country's commitments under…

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EU executive summons Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian envoys over migration

The European Union's executive summoned envoys from member states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia on Thursday over the fate of migrants stuck on their border with Belarus. "I'm very concerned about…

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Poland plans to spend over $400 million on wall on Belarus border

Poland plans to spend over 1.6 billion zlotys ($404 million) on building a wall on its border with Belarus, according to a draft bill lawmakers discussed on Wednesday, in a…

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Belarus should face further action over plane diversion, U.S. nominee says

President Joe Biden's nominee as U.S. representative to a U.N. aviation body suggested that Belarus should be temporarily barred from voting at the council in response to its May diversion…

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Amnesty International says Poland illegally pushed migrants back into Belarus

Poland carried out an unlawful pushback of a group of migrants camped out on its border with Belarus in late August, an analysis of satellite imagery and other photos and…

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EU to tighten visa rules for Belarus officials over migrants

The European Union will tighten visa rules for Belarusian state officials, Europe’s migration commissioner said on Wednesday, in retaliation for what she called Minsk’s aggressive effort to destabilise the bloc…

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Polish president seeks extension of state of emergency on Belarus border

Poland's President Andrzej Duda said he would request the extension of a state of emergency along Poland's border with Belarus for a further 60 days due to a surge in…

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UPDATED: Belarus forces kill IT worker in shootout, opposition says

Belarusian security forces shot dead a 31-year-old man, identified by the pro-democracy opposition as an IT worker with U.S. company EPAM Systems, during a raid on Tuesday at an apartment…

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Belarus President seeks constitutional changes to restrict opposition leaders from power

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called on Tuesday for changes to the constitution that would prevent an opposition movement that rose up against him in mass street protests last year from…

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Poland says it found evidence of extremism on migrants’ phones

Poland's interior minister said on Monday material related to Islamic extremism had been found in the phones of migrants crossing its border with Belarus and he called for a 60-day extension to…

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Belarus leader warns on NATO troops in Ukraine, migrant ‘catastrophe’

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned on Monday of a joint response with Russia to military exercises involving troops from NATO member countries in neighbouring Ukraine. Lukashenko, who gave no details…

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U.N. rights chief urges Belarus neighbours to protect asylum-seekers

The United Nations human rights chief called on Belarus’ neighbours to protect asylum seekers after four people died near the Polish border earlier this week amid a surge in illegal…

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Four people found dead on Polish border with Belarus

Polish officials said the bodies of three men, believed to be Iraqi nationals, were found on the Polish side of the Poland-Belarus border while Belarusian authorities announced an Iraqi woman was…

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Belarus leader reviews joint Russian military drills, touts $1 billion arms deals

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko reviewed on Sunday large joint military drills with Russia and said his country planned to buy more than $1 billion worth of arms…

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Russia and Belarus formally open huge war games, worrying NATO

Russia and ex-Soviet ally Belarus on Friday launched the active phase of vast military exercises involving 200,000 personnel that have alarmed Ukraine and some NATO nations. The "Zapad-2021" war games,…

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Czechs make first EU donation towards Lithuania-Belarus barrier

The Czech Republic has become the first EU member state to contribute funds for Lithuania to build a barrier along its border with Belarus amid a surge in migration and…

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Poland condemns jailing of Belarus protest leaders

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz on Monday condemned prison sentences imposed on Belarusian opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Maxim Znak. Kolesnikova and Znak were sentenced to 11 years and 10…

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EU calls for immediate release of Belarus protest leader Kolesnikova

The European Union has called for the immediate release of Belarus protest leader Maria Kolesnikova after she was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Kolesnikova and her fellow oppositionist Maxim Znak, who…

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EU calls for immediate release of Belarus protest leader Kolesnikova

The European Union has called for the immediate release of Belarus protest leader Maria Kolesnikova after she was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Kolesnikova and her fellow oppositionist Maxim…

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UPDATED: Belarusian court jails protest leader Kolesnikova for 11 years

Maria Kolesnikova, one of the leaders of mass street protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last year, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Monday, the state-run Belta news…

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Poland, Latvia worry over Russia’s war games on tense EU-Belarus border

Poland and Latvia expressed concern over Russia’s looming military drills held jointly on Belarus’ western border where the European Union accuses Minsk of pushing migrants over to put pressure on…

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Poland declares state of emergency on Belarus border amid migrant surge

Poland declared a state of emergency in two regions bordering Belarus following a surge of illegal migration that Warsaw has blamed on its neighbour. Poland and the European Union have…

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Poland says it is taking steps to counter any threat from military drills in Belarus

Poland is taking all steps necessary to counter any threats that could take place during military exercises in Belarus organised by the Russian army that will start on Sept. 10,…

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Poland requests state of emergency on Belarus border amid migrant surge

The Polish government asked the president on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency in two regions on its border with Belarus after the Polish Border Guard said hundreds of illegal crossings…

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Russian anti-aircraft missile troops arrive to Belarus to set up training centre

MOSCOW, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Russian anti-aircraft missile troops have arrived in Belarus with a mission of establishing a training centre in the city of Grodno near the border with…

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Poland builds a fence to stop migrants

Polish soldiers started building a fence on the border with Belarus on Thursday, as the European Union's largest eastern member takes steps to curb illegal border crossings despite criticism that…

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EU rights court calls on Poland, Latvia to aid migrants on Belarus border

The European Court of Human Rights asked the Polish and Latvian governments to intervene to help migrants camped on the Belarus border. The fate of the migrants has become part…

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UN refugee agency presses Poland to help migrants on Belarus border

WARSAW, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR and rights groups urged Poland on Tuesday to offer medical and legal support and shelter to migrants camping on the…

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EU ready to impose new sanctions on Belarus, if situation deteriorates

The EU is ready to bring new sanctions against Belarus if the situation in the country - which the bloc accuses of pushing asylum seekers across its borders - continues…

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EU closes ranks to halt ‘direct attack’ from Belarus with migrants

EU countries accused Belarus on Wednesday of conducting "a direct attack" by pushing asylum seekers across its border and, uneasy about the prospect of a surge of Afghan migrants, agreed…

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Chief editor of independent Belarus news agency missing after raid

The chief editor of one of Belarus' leading independent news organisations has gone missing after police searched her home overnight, the country's reporters' association said on Wednesday, as authorities pursue…

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New wave of arrests in Belarus

Belarusian authorities have detained more than 20 people in the latest wave of arrests, continuing their sweeping crackdown on dissent a year after a disputed presidential election, human rights activists…

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Latvia starts pushing back migrants at tense Belarus border

Latvian border guards turned back dozens of migrants into Belarus overnight under a new state of emergency designed to stem a flow of arrivals the European Union says is orchestrated…

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Defiant Belarus leader shrugs off sanctions, says athlete was ‘manipulated’

A defiant President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday a Belarusian sprinter defected at the Olympic Games only because she had been "manipulated" by outside forces and shrugged off a coordinated barrage of new…

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Poland reports record number of migrants at Belarusian border

A record number of migrants have crossed the Polish border with Belarus since Friday, the Border Guard said on Monday, amid accusations Minsk is using illegal crossings to pressure European…

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UPDATED: Lukashenko strikes defiant note a year after contested election, Britain slaps sanctions on Belarus

President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday a Belarusian sprinter who defected at the Olympic Games in Tokyo had been "manipulated" by outside forces and would not have fled abroad otherwise.…

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Poland, Lithuania call for EU help with migration surge at Belarusian border

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland and Lithuania on Friday called on European institutions to help them deal with a surge in illegal migration from Belarus over their borders, as tensions between…

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EU summons Belarus envoy over migrant stream to Lithuania

The European Union has summoned the Belarusian envoy in Brussels and held talks with the Iraqi government after accusing Belarus of using illegal migrants, largely Iraqis, as a political weapon against EU…

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Poland says Belarus lets migrants cross border in ‘hybrid war’ with EU

Poland accused Belarus of sending a growing number of migrants over the border in retaliation for Warsaw's decision this week to give refuge to Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, a Belarusian athlete who…

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Two Belarus team officials stripped of Games accreditation, sent home

TOKYO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Two Belarus Olympic officials involved in attempting to send sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya home from the Tokyo Olympics have had their Games accreditation revoked and have…

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Lithuania denies Belarus reports of migrant death on border

Lithuania's interior ministry dismissed Belarusian reports that an Iraqi migrant had been found beaten to death after being turned away at the Lithuanian border, describing it as part of a…

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Belarus sprinter heads for Austria in fresh twist to Tokyo diplomatic drama

TOKYO (Reuters) -Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya left Tokyo for Austria on Wednesday, adding another dramatic twist to a diplomatic saga in which she had sought refuge at the Polish embassy.…

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3,800 migrants cross border from Belarus to Lithuania

Around 3,800 people were transferred Monday to an immigration detention center in Vydeniai, Lithuania, after crossing the border from Belarus in the last 24 hours, most of them identifying themselves as…

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Belarus athlete will fly to Poland after refusing orders to go home

A Belarusian athlete who took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo after refusing her team's orders to fly home from the Olympic Games will travel to Poland on Wednesday, a group of…

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Belarus athlete granted Polish visa after refusing to go home

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A Belarusian athlete who took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday, a day after refusing her team's orders to board a flight…

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Belarusian sprinter says she was taken to airport against her wishes, will not return home

TOKYO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A Belarusian sprinter said she was taken to the airport against her wishes on Sunday to board a flight back home after she complained about…

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Belarus leader would ‘not hesitate’ to invite Russian troops if needed

Belarus would not hesitate to invite Russian troops if needed, President Alexander Lukashenko said, although he said there was no need for them now. Russia has maintained close military and…

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EU says sanctions an option to tackle Belarus people smugglers

The European Union will consider sanctions against migrant smugglers and those involved in human trafficking to address a surge in "irregular" border crossings from Belarus, the bloc's top diplomat said.…

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