Belarus: Lukashenko holds talks with detained rivals

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says that he acted "to protect people" by diverting a Ryanair flight over Belarusian airspace.

The two leaders, at odds with the West over recent political maneuvers, have enjoyed a boat trip near Sochi. Last week, a plane was forced to land in Minsk to arrest a blogger critical of the Lukashenko regime.

Exiled Belarusians and international supporters have joined forces to form the German nonprofit Razam. They are showing their support by taking to the streets and showing solidarity with the opposition in Belarus.

Ex-banker and Belarusian opposition figure Viktor Babariko has been sentenced to 14 years in jail. He is regarded as the main challenger to Alexander Lukashenko, the country's disputed leader.

Lithuania has detained at least 131 migrants over the past 24 hours, mostly from Africa and the Middle East. The EU believes that Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko is behind the influx.

Following a meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya says the death of dissident Vitaly Shishov in Ukraine was probably 'a crime', but that she would wait for the outcome of investigations before confirming her position. Saying she understood that she might 'disappear at any moment', she said 'I can't stop, because I feel responsibility for the future of my country.'

The Lukashenko regime has been turning up the heat daily since a wave of mass protests swept across Belarus last year. So where do things stand now?

A year after his controversial reelection threw Belarus into chaos, President Alexander Lukashenko repeated claims that his opponents are working with the West to force him from power.

Belarusian state news showed President Alexander Lukashenko in fatigues inspecting joint military exercises with Russia. The arms deal with Moscow could include the state-of-the-art S-400 missile system.

Members of the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg are poised to demand international prosecution against the disputed president of Belarus for repression.

Lithuania's foreign minister has defended his country's newly-imposed state of emergency on and around its border with Belarus, amid an increasing number of irregular migrants trying to cross – and has accused the Belarusian president of orchestrating "instrumentalised migration" and participating in "trafficking". Gabrielius Landsbergis told FRANCE 24's Catherine Nicholson that Lithuanian border officials need "more legal instruments to really secure the border", which runs for approximately 700 kilometres.

In a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Belarus' president reportedly said his country is ready to negotiate with the EU on solving the crisis at the Polish border.