Alexander Lukashenko

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko yesterday banned citizens from renewing their passports while abroad, which could force those who fled the country, amid a growing crackdown, to return to keep their travel documents.

The Nobel Foundation on Sept. 2 withdrew its invitation for representatives of Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend this year's Nobel Prize award ceremonies after the decision announced a day earlier "provoked strong reactions."

"Turkey is currently a major factor in the region, on the one hand because it has real military capabilities in the Black Sea. Turkey itself is willing and plays a significant role in the processes related to the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Black Sea". Dimo Gyaurov, former director of the National Intelligence Service, commented on BNT.

The United States Embassy in Belarus issued a warning on Monday and urged its citizens to leave Belarus immediately.

A statement noted that Lithuania had previously closed two of its border crossings with Belarus and that Poland and Latvia had indicated they might do the same.

Day 532 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

They made that decision after they determined that two Belarusian helicopters had violated Polish airspace.
"It was established that today, August 1, 2023, there was a violation of Polish airspace by two Belarusian helicopters that were conducting training near the border," the ministry said in a statement.

Day 516 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Russian former world number two Vera Zvonareva has been denied entry to Poland where she was to participate in next week's Polish Open WTA tournament, the interior ministry said on July 22.

"Vera Zvonareva was trying to enter our country with a visa granted by France, via a flight from Belgrade," according to a statement issued by the Polish ministry.

Respect for European norms is a prerequisite for the improvement of EU-Turkey relations, the Foreign Affairs Council stated during their session in Brussels on Thursday. Ankara has expressed its expectation of positive steps from the EU concerning visa liberalization and the Customs Union. 

Former FSB agent and Russian military blogger Igor Girkin warned that members of Wagner would not hesitate to kill Russians if ordered to do so by their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Let us remind you that last month, the Wagner members launched a short-lived armed rebellion against the Russian military leadership.