Belarus

Belarus Oppn leader Mikalai Statkevich disappears after defying deportation

Scores of political prisoners pardoned by the authoritarian leader of Belarus sat on a bus waiting to cross the border with Lithuania last month, minutes from freedom. Suddenly, one of them stood up, forced the door open and got off, defiantly refusing to leave his homeland in what he called as a forced deportation. Since that incident on September 11, Mikalai Statkevich hasn't been seen. Human rights activists are demanding that Belarusian authorities reveal what has happened to the 69-year-old opposition politician and former presidential candidate. Statkevich was one of 52 political prisoners pardoned by President Alexander Lukashenko as part of a deal brokered by the United States. Fellow political prisoner Maksim Viniarski, who was travelling with him on the bus, told The Associated Press that Statkevich looked determined ready to fight not only for himself, but for the freedom of all Belarusians. When the emaciated Statkevich bolted from the bus, he left behind his critical

Putin has Ukraine peace proposal Trump is familiar with: Lukashenko

Lukashenko meets Putin more often than any other foreign leader and has backed his war in Ukraine, although without committing his own troops to fight

Brics welcomes Indonesia as member, 10 other nations as partner countries

Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Cuba, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan joined Brics as partner countries

Russia, Ukraine start prisoner swap after recriminations after peace talks

The first groups of prisoners under the age of 25 years were transferred by both sides, and the returning Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said

Crackdown in Belarus sends dozens of independent journalists to prisons

Journalist Ksenia Lutskina served only half of her eight-year prison sentence in Belarus after being convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government. She was pardoned after she kept fainting in her cell from a brain tumor diagnosed during pretrial detention. I was literally brought to the penal colony in a wheelchair, and I realized that journalism has really turned into a life-threatening profession in Belarus, she told The Associated Press in Vilnius, Lithuania, where she lives. Lutskina was one of dozens of journalists imprisoned in Belarus, where many face beatings, poor medical care and the inability to contact lawyers or relatives, according to activists and former inmates. She compared the prisons to those from the Soviet era. The group Reporters Without Borders says Belarus is Europe's leading jailer of journalists. At least 40 are serving long prison sentences, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists. Lutskina had quit her job making documentaries for ..

US aid cut tests rights groups, independent media from Russia, Belarus

Rights groups, activists and independent media in Russia and Belarus endured increased government scrutiny, repressive laws and even being outlawed and forced to operate from exile abroad. Many survived despite the difficulties. Now some face a new challenge: the decision by US President Donald Trump to freeze for 90 days the aid provided by Washington. The aid, which came directly from or via the partners of the US Agency for International Development, as well as from other entities funded by the US government, was a source for some of their grant money. Objectively, it's a very bad thing, an activist with Center-T, a prominent Russian trans group, told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. Organizations could have done much more significant things if it weren't for this situation. Members of Russian and Belarusian rights groups and independent media organizations described varying effects of the action, from bad to unpleasant. Many get fundi

Belarus strongman set to win 7th term in election Oppn calls a farce

The smiling face of President Alexander Lukashenko gazed out from campaign posters across Belarus on Sunday as the country held an orchestrated election virtually guaranteed to give the 70-year-old autocrat yet another term on top of his three decades in power. Needed! the posters proclaim beneath a photo of Lukashenko, his hands clasped together. The phrase is what groups of voters responded in campaign videos after supposedly being asked if they wanted him to serve again. But his opponents, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by his unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, would disagree. They call the election a sham much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests that were unprecedented in the history of the country of 9 million people. The crackdown saw more than 65,000 arrests, with thousands beaten, bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West. His iron-fisted rule since 1994 Lukashenko took office two years after the demise of the .

European Union rejects election in Belarus, threatens new sanctions

The European Union rejected the election in Belarus on Sunday as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions. Belarus held an orchestrated vote virtually guaranteed to give 70-year-old autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko yet another term on top of his three decades in power. Today's sham election in Belarus has been neither free, nor fair, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said in a joint statement. The relentless and unprecedented repression of human rights, restrictions to political participation and access to independent media in Belarus, have deprived the electoral process of any legitimacy," Kallas and Kos said. They urged the Belarusian government to release political prisoners, estimating their number at more than 1,000, including an employee of the EU delegation in Belarus' capital, Minsk. Kallas and Kos said that the decision to invite observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe only 10 days ago ..

Altercation erupts at high-level meeting of Russia-dominated economic union

A tightly-scripted meeting of the Russia-dominated economic alliance of several ex-Soviet nations briefly went awry Thursday when two leaders engaged in bickering during a live broadcast of the event. Russian President Vladimir Putin and other heads of states attended the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has increasingly sought to phase down his country's ties with Moscow and forge closer relations with the West, joined the meeting via video link after cancelling his trip following a positive test for COVID-19. The carefully choreographed session at a resort near St. Petersburg veered off script when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose country was taking the rotating chairmanship in the economic grouping from Armenia, urged Pashinyan to visit Belarus for the union's next meeting. Pashinyan responded that he plans to attend the Belarus meeting via vide

HSBC stops processing all Russia, Belarus payments for retail customers

A message sent from the bank to its personal banking customers and seen by Reuters said the lender has 'made the decision to stop processing payments' from the two countries

World's largest cargo plane Beluga XL makes a landing at Kolkata airport

The Beluga XL aircraft, the world's largest cargo plane, made another landing at Kolkata airport on Monday morning, an official said. The aircraft arrived here at 5.47 am from the Tianjin Binhai International Airport in China. The purpose of the stop is crew rest, FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) and refuelling, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson said. It is scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm on Tuesday and head to Bahrain International Airport, he said. The aircraft was expected to return to Kolkata on October 13 but it got delayed by almost 24 hours, the AAI spokesperson said. Kolkata got its first glance at the Beluga XL, which is also the biggest Airbus Beluga series aircraft, when it landed at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport on October 8. The Beluga XL is the upgraded and bigger version of Beluga ST. The overall length of the aircraft is 207 ft, with a height of 62 ft and wing span of 197 ft and 10 inches, according to data on the Airbus

Poland temporarily suspends right to asylum amid tensions with Belarus

The 'Balkan trail' is used by Romanians, Bulgarians and citizens from former Yugoslavia who enter legally because regulations allow a one-month stay without a visa

Poland PM plans to suspend right to asylum as part of new migration policy

Poland's leader said Saturday that he plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as part of a new migration policy, pointing to its alleged abuse by eastern neighbour Belarus and Russia. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the state must regain 100 per cent of the control over who enters and leaves Poland, and that a territorial suspension of the right to asylum will be part of a strategy that will be presented to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Polish news agency PAP reported. He didn't give details, but said at a convention of his Civic Coalition that we will reduce illegal migration in Poland to a minimum." Poland has struggled with migration pressures on its border with Belarus since 2021. Successive Polish governments have accused Belarus and Russia of luring migrants from the Middle East and Africa there to destabilise the West. Tusk pointed to alleged misuse of the right to asylum by (Belarusian President Alexander) Lukashenko, by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, by

Belarus concentrating personnel, weaponry along Ukrainian border, says Kyiv

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also noted that some former Wagner PMC troops were also present in the area

China, Belarus agree to strengthen bilateral cooperation in trade, security

Belarus was among the first group of countries that responded to China's Belt and Road Initiative

Belarus deploys more air troops, aircraft to its border with Ukraine

Belarus has deployed aircraft and air defence troops to its border with Ukraine, a day after President Alexander Lukashenko announced he would station almost a third of the country's military along the frontier. The Belarusian military also deployed anti-aircraft missiles and soldiers from the country's radio-technical corps, Maj. Gen. Andrey Lukyanovich, commander of the Belarusian Air Defence Forces, said on national television, describing the move as a significant increase. Belarus' authoritarian leader, Lukashenko, on Sunday announced that he'd ordered almost a third of the army to the border with Ukraine. Although he did not specify troop numbers, Belarus' army numbers about 60,000. Lukashenko said the decision was in response to additional Ukrainian troops being deployed along the border, but that could not be independently verified. Ukraine has not confirmed the Belarusian deployment to the 1,084-kilometer common border. Russia has used Belarus which depends on Russian loa

Nearly a third of army has been sent to Ukraine border: Belarusian prez

Lukashenko said the Belarusian-Ukrainian border was mined "as never before" and that Ukrainian troops would incur huge losses if they tried to cross it

Olympic bans: A list of countries that were excluded from past Games

In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Russia and Belarus have been banned from participating in the games due to the Ukraine war. But they are not the first to face such a ban.

EAM Jaishankar meets Belarusian counterpart, welcomes Belarus to SCO bloc

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday met his Belarusian counterpart Maksim Ryzhenkov here and discussed the bilateral relationship and its future growth potential. Jaishankar, who is here to represent India at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and carrying out various bilateral meetings on the sidelines, also welcomed the eastern European country as the newest member to the SCO bloc. Pleased to meet FM Maksim Ryzhenkov of Belarus today. Welcome Belarus to the SCO as its newest member. Discussed our bilateral relationship and its future growth potential, Jaishankar posted on the social media platform X along with the photos of the meeting. The meeting of the two Foreign Ministers came days after the first-ever India-Belarus Consular Dialogue that was held on June 28 in Minsk. The Indian delegation was led by Dr Aman Puri, JS (CPV), while the Belarusian delegation was led by Andrei Kozhan, Head of General Directorate for Consular Affairs, Minis

Tennis stars Sabalenka, Jabeur rule out Olympics to avoid risking health

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur ruled themselves out of the Olympic Games in Paris. Both top-10 players said they didn't want to switch from grass at Wimbledon back to clay at Roland Garros for the Olympic tournament and then immediately start the hard-court season in North America. World No 3 Sabalenka from Belarus said she'd rather have a break. It's too much for the scheduling and I made the decision to take care of my health, she said in Berlin, where she's warming up for Wimbledon. I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I'm ready for the hard courts. I'll have a good preparation before going to the hard-court season. I feel that this is safer and better for my body." World No. 10 Jabeur from Tunisia wrote on X that not being able to play at a fourth consecutive Olympics was unfortunate. We (and my medical team) have decided that the quick change of surface and the body's adaptation required w