Silencing dissent: Belarus cracks down on clergy who supported protests of its authoritarian leader
YURAS KARMANAU, of Associated Press, reports on the increasing crackdown on clergy and religious organisations who are critical of the government of President Alexander Lukashenko…
Belarus PM replaces Lukashenko at ceremony, sparks speculation
Reuters Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has not been seen in public since Tuesday, did not appear on Sunday at a ceremony in the capital, Minsk, triggering speculation that the veteran leader is seriously ill. The BelTA state news agency reported that Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko read a message from Lukashenko during an annual ceremony […]
Belarus faces sanctions backlash over jetliner “state piracy”
Brussels, Belgium/Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Western powers prepared to pile sanctions on Belarus and cut off its aviation links on Monday, furious after it scrambled a warplane to intercept a Ryanair aircraft and arrest a dissident journalist, an act one leader denounced as “state piracy”. In a video posted online, the detained blogger Roman Protasevich, 26, […]
Belarus forces airliner to land and arrests opponent, sparking US and European outrage
Moscow, RussiaReuters Belarusian authorities 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 an opposition-minded journalist who was on board, drawing condemnation from Europe and the United States. In the incident, described by some EU leaders as […]
Belarusian police disperse Minsk protesters, detain dozens
Minsk, BelarusAP Police in Belarus dispersed protesters who gathered on the capital’s central square Wednesday, detaining dozens in an effort to end weeks of demonstrations challenging the re-election of the country’s authoritarian ruler. The crackdown in Independence Square on Wednesday came on the 18th straight day of protests pushing for the resignation of authoritarian President […]