it was over belarus's air space. the fighter jet forced the plane to land inside belarus. and the 26-year-old they took off that plane was that young man who is the editor of nexta. that media outlet. the young man who lukashenko designated a terrorist for the crime of him running a media outlet that covered the protests. they arrested that young man on the tarmac. took him into custody in belarus. he turned up in a forced confession video today obviously under duress and bruised confessing in weird technical language he's never used before to all the things lukashenko charged him with. absolutelyl terrifying to it. in a dictatorship we're trained to expect anything. but we almost never expect something this dramatic, right? something affecting this many countries. something this violent of how the world is supposed to run. there's plenty of bad leaders in poorly run countries around the world. very few where random passenger planes minding their own business are threatened to be shot down by military force just for being there when they're not taking off from that country

now russia, an ally of belarus, has denied entry to belarus, has denied entry to flights by two europeans because they planned to avoid belarussian airspace. the eu says it's almost ready to launch new sanctions on belarus. more strong words from the international community and more moves towards concrete actions against the authorities here in belarus, too, with talk of a package of sanctions almost ready against the authorities here, and possible economic measures to come soon after that. there is one sanction that's already kicked in here, though, with the national airline belavia here now banned from flying to europe, so there's a real sort of increasing sense of isolation in this country from that move. i spoke to people today trying to return their tickets, talking about the fact they felt trapped in the country now, but interestingly they also told me that they welcomed the move, they welcomed the sanctions. they hope that that could increase the pressure on the authorities that they tried to do with their street protests last year. of course, they were forced off the streets by t

continues to stick by belarus and defends its egregious actions.ty for the european union but also for nato and the unity of the transatlantic alliance between the us and the eu? this is not obviously an incident nato will respond to, other than through rhetoric, belarus does not aspire to be a member of the alliance. although the countries that the plane was moving between, greece and lithuania, were nato members. this is an issue of transatlantic solidarity. it depends how far they want to go in pressuring belarus on this issue, nato made a strong statement. there were some nato allies seeking to soften the statement to include turkey. as always, a test case of unity and so far the eu has responded relatively well. but as sanctions escalate, there will be a call to avoid pushing belarus too far into russia's arms. china has reacted angrily after president biden ordered an intelligence investigation into whether the coronavirus first emerged as a leak from a chinese laboratory. beijing said us intelligence had a dark history of spreading misinform

well he fled belarus in 2019. he'd been critical of belarus' president, alexander lu kashenko. 27 years — is an ally of russia and is sometimes referred to as "europe's last dictator". we've talked about him a lot recently because after he claimed victory in last year's election. there were widespread concerns about that election — and huge opposition protests followed. and from exile, mr protasevich was covering these events and sharing footage of them via social media accounts that were used by opposition supporters. for that, he was charged with terrorism and inciting riots. and lest there's any doubt about what happened on sunday. here's belarus state media — we have translated it for you — reporting that president lukashenko personally ordered that this plane was diverted. he'd have know that mr protasevich had just been at a press conference helped by the belarus' opposition leader, svetlana tikhanovskaya — who's also in exile. here's her reaction to what's happened. we are sure that it was because of direct order of lukashenko himself, because he considered roman to be h

we know the journalist is in jail in belarus, this has been issued or confirmed rather by the belarusnterior ministry. let's go to this report. reporter: following his dramatic removal from a flight between athens and let the winnie a, roman protasevich appears in recorded video. >> [speaking foreign language] reporter: in what has been described as state-sponsored high grabbing -- hijacking, his flight was diverted to minsk, immediately sparking the political dissidents alarm, according to witnesses on board. >> [speaking foreign language] reporter: the official reason for the forced landing, a bomb threat, which the captain said gave him little choice but to land. adding to the pressure, a belarusian airplane escorted the flight. when it landed in minsk, police took protasevich and his russian girlfriend into custody. three other passengers did not reach their final destination, arousing suspicions that belarusian or russian security forces were aboard. the eu and other western countries have already imposed a series of sanctions on alexander lukashenko's government following his di

-- placed on belarus. germany coming out and saying they don't want their planes flying over belarus. jonathan: the european union is about to declare the use of that airspace is unsafe. tom: i think the sanctions are already in place, but there is much more that could be done than simply saying we will not fly over the nation. we need to say -- we need to see a solution. russia has to step in and find the boundaries, in that ancient tension back to world war ii. jonathan: all of this ahead of the president's first overseas trip to europe. the s&p, we bounce back by about half of 1%. that is the story. tom: rocketing higher. jonathan: you could call it 41.73. lisa will run you through as the week progresses. a slightly stronger euro in the mix today. lisa: when are you going to start putting bitcoin on your chart? jonathan: for the morning board? no time soon. tom: a different question. lisa: this is a key question. at what point does this become a metric that people look at every single day and use to det

what do you think of what belarus has done? i am what belarus has done?m appalled, i think— what belarus has done? i am appalled, i think everybody l what belarus has done? i—h appalled, i think everybody in the west is. intercepting a civilian airliner in mid—flight, using a heavily armed fighter to do so and forcing it to divert to your capital �*s airportjust so you can detain somebody on board of him you disapprove. it�*s an act of aerial piracy and belarus richly deserves all the condemnation that has been heaped upon it. i�*m all the condemnation that has been heaped noon it— all the condemnation that has been heaped upon it— heaped upon it. i'm not sure mr lukashenko _ heaped upon it. i'm not sure mr lukashenko we _ heaped upon it. i'm not sure mr lukashenko we care _ heaped upon it. i'm not sure mr lukashenko we care about - heaped upon it. i'm not sure mr lukashenko we care about the l lukashenko we care about the combination that has been heaped upon it, what would actually stop the president of a nation like this doing something like this in th

belarus rejects the accusations as unfounded. european leaders arriving for a meeting tonight expressed their outrage at the incident and put up a united front. >> we witnessed a forced landing which resulted in the arrest of a belarusian figure. he must be released immediately. all the explanations are impossible. the same applies for his partner . we are demanding their release and will discuss what actions we can take with a united european voice. >> what hapned yesterday is an international scandal. the life of european civilia were at risk yesterday. this is not acceptable and this is why we put sanctions on the table. the european governments are preparing different options, different measures, and i hope that we can make decisions on that tonight. >> there will be a strong focus on the utterly unacceptable hijacking of a ryanair flight by belarus authorities. there will be a strong answer. it's outrageous behavior. they'll have to understand that this will have severe consequences. tonight, we will discuss different option

belarus is the only european _ belarus has ratified.an country which still uses the death penalty. but why is roman protasevich a target of lukashenko? his father spoke to the bbc�*s sarah rainsford. why is it you think the authorities and belarus single guess son out? because the authorities are very afraid of freethinking, intelligent people. they are afraid of free speech. during the events of august 2020, it was like allowed halo and showing people what was happening, even telling people what to do. so i think lukashenko probably declared him as a personal enemy. let�*s look at his story in more depth roman protasevich is 26 years old, so he�*s never lived in belarus without lukashenko in power. he was expelled from school for protesting against the regime. he co—founded the opposition channel nekhta on the app telegram. telegram is a secure messaging app — and one of very few ways belarusian have been able to organise as authorities suppress independent media. the channel has nearly two million subscribers. it broadcasts footage of

the airspace of belarus to international flights but also to probably ban the flights from belarus toion... but at the same time recognise that all these measures are targeting just a very narrow aspect of the situation in belarus, while the problem now is more comprehensive. 0k, we will get onto the wider situation in a moment. because i know there are pressing issues, but on the issue of the flight, i hear you when you say, close the airspace... what specifically would you like to see happen with the journalist involved? in the first case, we want to see the investigation, a full—scale investigation by the aviation industry regulators to see what actually happened. the ryanair statement has not been very detailed. we have not seen much information about what happened between the pilots and the authorities on the ground. it seems the plane has been diverted not because they were asked to, the crew was not asked to, but because the fighterjets were scrambled in belarus and they forced the plane to divert from vilnius to minsk international airport... on the wider point, because we are

belarus to international flights but also to probably ban the flights from belarus to european unionhe same time recognise that all these measures are targeting just a very narrow aspect of the situation in belarus, while the situation in belarus, while the problem now is more comprehensive.- the problem now is more comprehensive. the problem now is more com - rehensive. comprehensive. 0k, we will get onto the comprehensive. ok, we will get onto the wider— comprehensive. 0k, we will get onto the wider situation - comprehensive. 0k, we will get onto the wider situation in - comprehensive. 0k, we will get onto the wider situation in a - onto the wider situation in a moment. because i know there are pressing issues, but on the issue of the flight, i hear you when you say, close the airspace... what specifically would you like to see happen with the journalist involved? in the first, we want to see the investigation, a full—scale investigation by the aviation industry regulators to see what actually happened. the ryanair statement has not been very detailed. we have not seen much informa

coming up, eu leaders have vowed rod sanctions against belarus -- broad sanctions against belarus. we are live in brussels with the latest on the story. this is bloomberg. ♪ >> what has happened here -- >> hijacking the plane and paving like that -- behaving like that. >> you have to understand this will have bigger consequences. >> there is already a package of sanctions and i think a fourth package should be accelerated. >> particular also against companies, economic sanctions, and entities. >> we need clear actions to change the pattern of behavior of this very dangerous regime. manus: just some of the eu leaders reacting to belarus's forced landing of orion airplane. they spoke ahead -- a ryan airplane. they are imposing an effective flight blockade on the country. belarus and officials are said to be added to the existing blacklist and targets are being drawn up. let's get to our reporter, maria tadeo. what is the package going to include and how penal are they? maria: we talked about this being a full package, the european union wanted to go beyond individuals and that's what

we were also flying over belarus. what happened shows that no one is safe flying over belarus. shows, even if you are in the territory of the european union, you cannot be saved, even abroad. lukashenko's regime is using all sorts of ways to prosecute opponents, journalists, activists, it means dismissing international standards norms. they used interpol to persecute opponents but also to collect information on them. ros: belarus has defended its actions. here is a spokesperson saying there is no doubt the actions of our authorities fully met international rules. not everyone agrees with that assessment. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken says he is demanding an investigation. the british foreign secretary dominic raab says that lukashenko must be held responsible for his outlandish actions, and has called for the immediate release of protasevich. his father has spoken to the bbc in moscow. >> when you find out your son has been seized in such a vile terrorist manner, if someone close to you is taken and they say we will put him away for a long time and will even get the de

. ., ., ,, ., also been hearing coming out of belarus? ~ ., .,, ., , , ., , belarus? shockin: belarus? what has happened of course is shocking and — belarus? what has happened of course is shocking and unprecedented - belarus? what has happened of course is shocking and unprecedented and - belarus? what has happened of course is shocking and unprecedented and it l is shocking and unprecedented and it is shocking and unprecedented and it is right there has been an immediate international condemnation of it. i think it tells us a number of things. the first is that lukashenko, who has long been a threat to his own people, has now become an international threat, someone who is prepared in order to stay in power to carry out actions which jeopardise large numbers of non—belarusian citizens. so he has escalated the threat he presents and that requires a corresponding escalation of the response. the second is that in an interesting way it shows how insecure he himself still feels, even though the mobilisation that we saw in the belarussian streets a few months ago has now b

, , of the opposition movement in belarus? , ., ., belarus? belarus? first, loss of opposition you have it _ belarus? first, loss of opposition you have it done _ belarus? first, loss of opposition you have it done are _ belarus? first, loss of opposition you have it done are right - belarus? first, loss of opposition you have it done are right now i belarus? first, loss of opposition you have it done are right now in | you have it done are right now in europe and they have left. a lot of people in prison but is important to see that why lukashenko went to such extreme lengths to arrest a blogger or journalist extreme lengths to arrest a blogger orjournalist because, right now, the media, the last remnants of the independent media are a force of opposition, control, came to power in belarus and they are clearly seen as a threat to this dictatorship, the oldest dictatorship in europe, and this explains the expenses to where the regime went last week. thank you so much. it was a shocking chapter in germany's colonial history. now germany has for

but the more as belarus -- but the more that belarus is acting as a rogue state, or a state that has of how things go on the european continent, the more that it seems to be enabled by russia, backing belarus up, or standing in its quarter. the more difficult the other range of relationships are going to be for the eu and russia. the more difficult it's going to be for them to find common ground in other areas, where belarus can be the subject for horse trading, or where russia could be made to put pressure on belarus. but really, the big point of this, as well, is that russia has put all of its chips on lukashenko, and they determined that he can't fall, or that he shouldn't be deposed. that means that he effectively has a lot more leeway and a lot more freedom of action because russia has already, yeah. anna: at the time where we saw this problematic elections taking place in belarus -- and there were lots of questions as to whether russia would back lukashenko, or whether they would allow him to fall. you say that decision has been made. over what time horizon do think that contin

sought to make belarus completely dependent on russia and also use belarus a place to put russian airases that is a security concern for nato and the west. on the matter of the summit. this matter of the ryanair flight and in fact the combination of terrorism and kidnapping we have seen on the belarusian authorities more will come out in the coming days if it turns out that russia is involved, that would with clearly be extremely serious and the west would have to draw conclusions. i emphasize that there is no clear evidence of that, but it is something we should be open to and it would be one more example of russian behaving in dangerous ways abroad. we have seen examples of poisoning in eu countries and so on as part of the larger pattern. >> sir, to round up the discussion i don't want to end it without asking about the journalist him himself. what hope is there for the international community to get involved and try to secure a release of the detained individual the only other comparison we can have is alexei navalny >> it is a worrying situation, i'm afraid there are already seve

. —— belarus�*s government.espondent sarah rainsford in moscow. you've been speaking to the journalist roman protasevich's father — what did he have to say? dmitri was distressed but also very angry and describe what happened to his son. he said he was living in the eu and felt protected and never imagined anything like this could have happened to him. he said he and his wife had heard nothing from roman, didn't know where he was or what was happening to him but were extremely worried that he could be being abused, beaten, even tortured, as has happened to other belarussian detainees from the opposition in the past. so he was really appealing to western politicians to put all the pressure they possibly could on minsk to set roman free. i think dimitri also wanted to use this interview to come and wanted this incident, what has happened to his son, to shine a light on what is happening in belarus, as he put it, right at the heart of europe in the 21st—century. for months there were massive street protests there w

you-based airlines have also been asked to stop flying through belarus airspace.via and belarus have ordered the expulsion of each other's diplomats, while other european countries have decided to summon or expel belarusian ambassadors. a social media post shows him apparently confessing to charges against him. there are claims this was given under duress. roman protasevich is reported to have said that a death sentence is waiting for me here as the plane descended into minutes -- minsk. a channel hosted on telegram played a central role in organizing and coordinating pro-democracy protests last year.the platform published videos of state violence and leaked details of riot police under lukashenko's crackdown of dissent. roman protasevich fled in 2019. he faces extremism charges including organizing mass riots and inciting social hatred. natasha is live for us in paris. what do the eu leaders agree? reporter: after more than a day of furious responses and condemnation from you leaders, they have agreed -- eu leaders, they have agreed at a summit in brussels to imp

~ , . ., , belarus? i think this already has happened. _ belarus? so — belarus? i think this already has happened. so we _ belarus? i think this already has happened, so we are _ belarus? i think this already has happened, so we are not - belarus? i think this already has| happened, so we are not making belarus? i think this already has - happened, so we are not making any change in this situation. since the elections last year the lukashenko regime actually already has established the only relations they have had and these relations are with the russian federation. so i don't think we are pushing the regime any further. talk don't think we are pushing the regime any further.— don't think we are pushing the regime any further. talk to me about that airspace- — regime any further. talk to me about that airspace. belarussian _ regime any further. talk to me about that airspace. belarussian airspace i that airspace. belarussian airspace is only small. as i understand it though, important routes go over it. what sort of disruption will there be for peop

but all the while this _ belarus sea and air fleet. air fleet. but all the while this is going _ belarus sea and air fleet. but all the while this is going on - belarus sea and air fleet. but all the while this is going on many. the while this is going on many opposition figures have been arrested or have fled into exile, so why will something be done now? maw; why will something be done now? many of us have been — why will something be done now? many of us have been calling _ why will something be done now? ij�*ia�*iy of us have been calling for things to be done a long time ago, and this is evidence that if you fail to act then eventually you act to fail, thatis then eventually you act to fail, that is exactly what we are doing. we have —— we have encouraged people to think they can act with impunity. we must make sure they realise they can't, because this is a direct threat, notjust to belarus in people speaking out, but to all of us. scrambling jets to —— scrambling fighterjets to down aircraft and bring them to the ground is extre

it's used to organised protests in belarus and to broadcast them.ing last summer's election, when belarus's long—time leader president lukashenko claimed yet another disputed victory. back then, we witnessed peaceful protesters being dragged off the streets of the capital. since, hundreds ofjournalists and opposition politicians have been imprisoned. roman is the latest target. they endangered the lives of 171 passengersjust because of roman protasevich. and we were sure that to fly between two un member states was safe, but it turns out that it's not. the chief executive of ryanair this morning spoke of his anger. this was a case of state—sponsored... it was a state—sponsored hijack, it was state—sponsored piracy. i think it was very frightening for the crew, for the passengers, who were held under armed guard, had their bags searched. speaking in the house of commons earlier, the foreign secretary said mr lukashenko�*s government must be held accountable for its reckless behaviour. the scenario as reported is a shocking assault on civil aviation a

what we need to make sure now is that belarus, we embrace those that stand _ that belarus, we embrace in belarus. this is not isolated, this is a series— belarus. this is not isolated, this is a series of— belarus. this is not isolated, this is a series of steps that have been taken _ is a series of steps that have been taken not — is a series of steps that have been taken not only against people seeking — taken not only against people seeking freedom of speech in belarus but against individuals who the uk has given— but against individuals who the uk has given asylum to and have been on the receiving — has given asylum to and have been on the receiving end of death threats. this activity has gone too far now and we _ this activity has gone too far now and we need to be seeking a long—term change for the country. there's_ long—term change for the country. there's huge russian involvement in this country, there is an enormous amount of russian money in this country and there are people who have expressed serious concerns about that for some time. the links are so strong now, how much c

in orderfor the forced to the ground in belarus.r for the authorities to get their hands on this activist. absolutely extraordinary. the belarussian defence ministry is saying that a fighterjet belarussian defence ministry is saying that a fighter jet was belarussian defence ministry is saying that a fighterjet was also scrambled, and so they say that was to ensure the safe landing of the civilian aircraft, but it does pay to really rather extraordinary picture. there were more than 100 people on board, most of them we understand citizens of lithuania but other nationalities as well including the citizens and of course belarussian. really quite an extraordinary situation that has led to real anger and outcry from many politicians and political leaders across europe. in particular some people at describing this as a hijacking, many people saying it's outrageous and important and certainly calling for measures to be taken. of course also calling for the release of a roman, the journalist at the heart of all of this. they also tells us

and people who live in belarus and people who live in belarus and people who live in belarus and thisling economy is going to struggle even more and that is the problem not only for the leader but also for the people of the country. i5 but also for the people of the count . , , ~ , country. is president putin likely to be comfortable _ country. is president putin likely to be comfortable openly - country. is president putin likely - to be comfortable openly supporting the president? it to be comfortable openly supporting the president?— the president? it seems that he already is. _ the president? it seems that he already is. you _ the president? it seems that he already is, you know. _ the president? it seems that he already is, you know. and - already is, you know. and yesterday's meeting it lasted for more than five hours and there was an open part where theyjoked and putin had invited the president to swim. the water is 10 degrees, it is not that warm. and that is exactly the relations between russia and belarus. not that one but there are allies. he was pursuing his own goals and

so, if anything, the sanctionsjust of belarus. where he does find support. are, right. iwas russia, where he does find support. are, right. i was going to ask you about russia because he is under the wing of resident putin, they met yesterday. how reliable do you think russia�*s support is for him? russia�*s support is for him? russia�*s support is reliable up to a certain point. a mean russia�*s whole policy goal is to keep belarus from moving closer to the west in orbit, if you will. i mean, may be further integration with you all, you know, defence organisations like nato. and so, for now, they will stick with lukashenko. they are not thrilled with him, necessarily, but he is the person in place at the moment and this, probably, they are buying themselves time until they can orchestrate, potentially, a move to a place in the summer and that is more to their liking but, yeah, would still keep belarus firmly in russia�*s m. so, really, you think that the power here lies with russia rather than with the other? yes. that the power

belarus is a buffer between russia and a number of eu and nato countries.sident putin supported mr. lukashenko throughout. re they are together in june. as belarus becomes more isolated politically, does that create issues for moscow? here is the bbc's steve rosenberg. >> whether or not boskalis about this drama before it happened, i think -- moscow about this drama before it happened, russia sees benefits for itself. now that alexander lukashenko has basically burned all bridges with the west, he is more aligned than ever before on moscow, politically and financially. that puts president putin in a strong position as he pushes to get closer ties with belarus and more influence there. >> an analyst with bbc monitoring specializes in belarus media. she has told me about what she has been saying. >> it differs greatly depending on whether you look at state media. state media have been all about promoting lukashenko's narrative that the west was waging a hybrid war against belarus. one of the state tv channels was showing comments from an -- unidentified socia

stay with us on belarus.his is bloomberg on radio, on television. ♪ (announcer) back pain hurts, and it's frustrating. you can spend thousands on drugs, doctors, devices, and mattresses, and still not get relief. now there's aerotrainer by golo, the ergonomically correct exercise breakthrough that cradles your body so you can stretch and strengthen your core, relieve back pain, and tone your entire body. since i've been using the aerotrainer, my back pain is gone. when you're stretching your lower back on there, there is no better feeling. (announcer) do pelvic tilts for perfect abs and to strengthen your back. do planks for maximum core and total body conditioning. (woman) aerotrainer makes me want to work out. look at me, it works 100%. (announcer) think it'll break on you? think again! even a jeep can't burst it. give the aerotrainer a shot. pain and stress is the only thing you have to lose. get it and get it now. your body will thank you. (announcer) find out more at aerotrainer.com. that's aerotrainer.c

when it comes to belarus, i think we have to recognize that belarus is in a neighborhood. this thing which just happened is of course an outrage and the economy will be punished for it but there's no way that this could have happened without russia. there's no way this could have happened without at the very least russian permission. by talking about voters were missing that larger international question because what we said at the beginning that democracy rises answer nationally, it also falls internationally. and russia has that very much in mind and of course russia is just as concerned if not more so about greatest generalists report about democracy, who report on protests of democracy and who lead a legible record for their own country, for people on their own country and around the world. >> talking with the staff of the show today about this story and about this topic, we talked a lot about press freedom and small democracy and some of the dots have been trying to connect here but what are the other things people are raising to me which really stuck with me is that

belarus. that could mean he could face the death penalty, even, if that comes to worse. certainly a lot of concern there. as far as the incident itself is concerned, the authorities in belarus clearly stating they launched a fighter jet to escort the plane to minsk. it is interesting to hear. rian air said the authorities informed them there was possibly a bomb on the plane and landed them to land at nearest airport. if you look at the flight path of the plane, there are strong indications it was closer to the lithuanian capital than the belarus capital. obviously a lot of condemnation coming from eu member states from the european union, as well. a lot of folks are, obviously, saying there need to be very, very tough action very quickly and, of course, the u.s. also says it's also in contact with the european union and the member states, as well. >> yeah. and let's talk about that. nic, if i can bring you in. the u.s. and eu are outraged over the actions. what is the latest on that? what are

yeah is notjust about the belarus people, but the liberty of journalism the belarus people, but thestem across europe as well. so we really do need to be very clear that this arrest cannot be allowed to continue, that he must be released at that until such time as he is and until we are clear what exactly has happened, we need to stop all fights into and out of belarus and all flights need to be grounded immediately. find and all flights need to be grounded immediately. and as a president. _ grounded immediately. and as a president, what _ grounded immediately. and as a president, what are _ grounded immediately. and as a president, what are your- president, what are your concerns about the security of civil aviation —— as a precedent? civil aviation -- as a precedent?- civil aviation -- as a precedent? civil aviation -- as a recedent? . ,, ., precedent? the great russian government — precedent? the great russian government sat _ precedent? the great russian government sat down -- - precedent? the great russian government sat down -- the l government sat down —— the russian governmen

the regime in belarus became a little more isolated.rope cut air links and calls grew for stronger action over its diversion of an airliner and arrest of a dissident belarusian journalist on board. roman protasevich remains in custody along wi his russi girlfriend. the u.n. has joined its voice to call for the release. a video was posted apparently of protasevich confessing to the crimes the belarus government accused him of. european commission president describes it as a hijacking. for more on the international pressure o belarus'president alexander lukashenko, this report. >> in the aftermath of what world leaders described as state i received, alexander lukashenko is increasingly isolated. a growing list of european airlines have either stopped flying over belarusian airspace or have suspended flights to and from the country altogether. and though the european union agreed to tighten sanctions targeting minsk, french president emmanuel macron said the bloc may need to go further by redefining its relationships with certain countries

belarus as base.e he will pay if he does not have this person released immediately, and it will be very high and damaging both for him personally and to the state that he controls. �* . personally and to the state that he controls. . ., ., .,, ,., , personally and to the state that he controls. . ., ., , ., controls. and what of those sorts of trade and economic— controls. and what of those sorts of trade and economic moves - controls. and what of those sorts of trade and economic moves to - controls. and what of those sorts of i trade and economic moves to pressure the country, what if they don't work, what other steps can be taken? well, i have mentioned the other steps. it's a question of complete international isolation. of course he will continue to have relations with russia, they will no doubt, they have already publicly welcomed what he has done. but belarus has been desperate, including lukashenko, not to become a total dependent state of russia and of moscow. well, he will have to realise th

belarus now.fears the death penalty. here�*s his mother. translation: i ask you to bring this information to the countries - of the european union, to america, to - presidents and leaders. i beg you, i ask you for help. i call upon you to save roman, save my son.| this was the route that the plane was travelling from athens to the lithuanian capital vilnius when the crew was told by belarus air traffic control to divert to minsk because of a bomb threat. lukashenko claims the information about the bomb came from switzerland. they deny giving the warning. also on that flight was sofia sapega — the girlfriend of roman prostevich — she�*s currently in a prison in minsk. here�*s her mother speaking to the bbc�*s sarah rainsford. translation: we are in such a state that we keep saying to each other- this cannot be happening. we don�*t believe it is happening to us. to our daughter. roman pratasevich founded an opposition social media channel on the secure messaging app telegram. it�*s called nexta. his

the eu has approved sanctions on belarus. the fighting between israel and palestinian militants. he says his priority is to build on the ceasefire. tuesday marks the first anniversary of the murder of george floyd — the african—american who was killed while being detained by police in the state of minnesota. being detained by police the images of the incident shocked people around the world, prompting millions to take part in global demonstrations against police brutality. our north america correspondent, nick bryant, is in minneapolis and gave us a sense of the atmosphere there. there's a sense of frustration and anger that not more has changed over the last 12 months, because, historically speaking, grievous acts of police brutality have been the catalyst for major reform. the sight of police dogs lunging at civil rights protesters in birmingham, alabama in 1963 led to landmark legislation the following year. selma, alabama, the site of police officers mercilessly beating protesters again, produced a landmark voting rights

grounded in belarus, the ryanair plane the state is accused of hijacking. a journalist and political refugee who had fled belarus two years ago. only to be forced back home yesterday under the most extraordinary circumstances by a regime he told his fellow passengers would execute him. this woman tries to get passengers to stay calm. as roman protasevich is lured away by agents from belarus�*s secret service, witnesses say he was shaking. they were checking our suitcases but at the same time they were arresting the journalist. at the same time they were arresting thejournalist. super at the same time they were arresting the journalist. super scared. at the same time they were arresting thejournalist. superscared. i the journalist. super scared. i looked thejournalist. superscared. i looked at him, directly in his eyes and it was very sad.— and it was very sad. immediately after the plane — and it was very sad. immediately after the plane forcibly _ and it was very sad. immediately after the plane forcibly landed, l after the plane forcibly landed, roman— af

but yet would still keep belarus firmly in russia's camp. 50 still keep belarus firmly in russia's campkeep belarus firmly in russia's cam. ., , ,, russia's camp. so really you think the ower russia's camp. so really you think the power lies _ russia's camp. so really you think the power lies with _ russia's camp. so really you think the power lies with russia - russia's camp. so really you think the power lies with russia ratherl the power lies with russia rather than europe. the power lies with russia rather than europe-— than europe. yes. russia is very aood at than europe. yes. russia is very good at extracting _ than europe. yes. russia is very good at extracting concessions l than europe. yes. russia is very - good at extracting concessions from those who are economically dependent on it. there are things that europe and the us can do. if the sections go forward at the eu is proposing notjust on individuals but if they really started targeting some of the state companies that certainly lukashenko enters i'll two allies benefit from. things like the oil company, the refinery belaru

. -- flight blockade on belarus.. ♪ anna: welcome back to the european market open. european equity markets making gains to the upside, up 0.4%. markets open yesterday are fairly flat, the ftse and a cac quarante. substantial m&a taking place within the real estate sector. some downward pressure on the acquiring company. let's move to the geopolitics. eu leaders have kicked off the process of further economic sections against belarus after it forced a plane to land in minsk and arrested a journalist. belarus and officials will be added to a blacklist. my next guest is calling for belarusian airspace to be closed for all international flights. the eu has been clear on this. joining us now is edgars rinkevics, minister of foreign affairs, republic of latvia. give me your response to the decision reached, that was come to at the meeting of eu leaders in brussels. are you pleased with what you heard? edgars: good morning. i think the decisions made by eu leaders, as you said, the flight blockade is something we are askin

the uk has also advised its carriers not to fly over belarus.said he was in good health and appeared to confess crimes he had been charged with by the belarussian state. the white house said it seemed to have been recorded under duress. there appears to be bruises on mr protasevich's head. his father has told the bbc he fears his son may be tortured. this report from mark lobel. a hijacking, an affront to international norms, playing russian roulette with innocent civilians' lives — some of the charges levelled against belarus by the us, uk, eu and un after this ryanair plane was unexpectedly diverted to land in minsk. we've not seen anything quite as outlandish, as deceitful, as dangerous as this for at least 30, 40, maybe 50 years. all apparently to kidnap this man, opposition journalist roman protasevich, for running an opposition news channel on the social media platform telegram, where anti—government protests are organised. roman was later seen in a video released by belarus authorities, but we're not showing it because it looks like he wa

we were flying over belarus territory. no one is safe who is flying over belarus.year—old opposition blogger. he be so worried by this 26-year-old opposition blogger.— opposition blogger. he has lost elections last _ opposition blogger. he has lost elections last august _ opposition blogger. he has lost elections last august and - opposition blogger. he has lost elections last august and there | opposition blogger. he has lost - elections last august and there were a massive protest, thousands of people protested every sunday. he lost support among the people. he may rely on violence and the army and police. he was one of the most vocal critic of of the president. he was writing about him and the regime and about the atrocities and he became the personal enemy. iie and about the atrocities and he became the personal enemy. he has been accused _ became the personal enemy. he has been accused by _ became the personal enemy. he has been accused by belarus _ became the personal enemy. he has been accused by belarus of - became the personal enemy. he has| been accused b

that is a serious problem. >> the close ties between russia and belarus, can't sanctions against belaruse separated from sanctions against russia? >> not if they involve the energy that comes out of belarus because it is russian energy. short of that, you certainly can. >> and bremmer -- ian bremmer, thank you very much for this insight. president of the eurasia group. let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines at this hour. tens of thousands of people are fleeing from low-lying areas of eastern india to escape a cyclone bearing down on the coast, expected to make landfall in -- landfall on wednesday. the european court of human rights' highest chamber said the surveillance program violated millions of citizens' rights. communications data was revealed by edward snowden in 2013. the family of george floyd has just been at the white house marking a year since his murder by a white police officer. they met with the president and vice president earlier. they were in congress in a session with speaker pelosi. is killing sparked a global -- his killing sparked global anti

it's used to organised protests in belarus and to broadcast them.s exploded during last summer's election, when belarus's long—time leader president lukashenko claimed yet another disputed victory. back then, we witnessed peaceful protesters being dragged off the streets of the capital. since, hundreds ofjournalists and opposition politicians have been imprisoned. roman is the latest target. they endangered the lives of 171 passengers just because of roman protasevich. and we were sure that to fly between two un member states is safe, but it turns out that it's not. the chief executive of ryanair this morning spoke of his anger. this was a case of state—sponsored... it was a state—sponsored hijack, it was state—sponsored piracy. i think it was very frightening for the crew, for the passengers, who were held under armed guard, had their bags searched. speaking in the house of commons earlier, the foreign secretary said mr lukashenko�*s government must be held accountable for its reckless behaviour. the scenario as reported is a shocking assault on ci

what on earth is happening in the belarus?om, finding unanimity at the european level is sometimes tough. given what happened over the weekend, they have to move. if they don't, they open the door for this kind of thing to happen again. reports coming out of europe suggest maybe it will not just be the air links that are shut down, and might be the ground links. air and ground, that would be something. tom: particularly with commercial viability in the belarus. jonathan: coming up, neil shearing of capital economics group, looking forward to that. good morning. alongside tom keene, lisa abramowicz, i am jonathan ferro. s&p 500 up 18 points, advancing .4%. euro is unchanged. heard on bloomberg radio, seen on bloomberg tv. this monday morning, this is "bloomberg surveillance." ♪ (announcer) do you want to reduce stress? shed pounds? do you want to flatten your stomach? do all that and more in just 10 minutes a day with aerotrainer, the total body fitness solution that uses its revolutionary ergonomic design to help you to mainta

the you called on the belarus -- the eu called on the belarus president to release the journalist andte the incident. resident biden called the incident a direct affront to international law. antony blinken began a middle east diplomat effort with a pledge to help reconstruction efforts in gaza. he spoke in jerusalem alongside benjamin netanyahu. antony blinken says he will -- he said the u.s. will ensure hamas will not benefit from the rebuilding effort. global news 24 hours a day, on air and on quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in over 120 countries. i am ritika gupta. this is bloomberg. alix: thanks so much. vimeo finally goes public. the stock is off the lows but still down, a 15% today. we want to get much more from the vimeo ceo, anjali sud and emily chang. congratulations. this is a very significant development. what you make of the stock reaction? anjali: it is exciting. thank you for vimeo and for video. we are not too worried or concerned about the stock. we think about this market in decades, not years. we are just getting started. w

the president of belarus sits down with vladimir putin as tensions mount over the interception of a passengerto arrest a journalist. >> we have been told 26 people have died here with symptoms of covid-19 in the past month. none of them were actually tested, that means -- >> from tourist hotspot to sanctuary, african migrants find refuge on the canary islands. love them, hate them, eat them. cicadas invade america, tasty ways to deal with brood x. >> welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. more than 300,000 people in india have died from coronavirus. covid is killing nearly 4000 people in the country each day. as staggering as the numbers are the true figure is likely to be several times higher especially in rural areas where access to health care d testing is virtually nonexistent. our international correspondent is there where she has a special report. >> funeral pyres are now a prism for the pain of a nation. he has lost in grief for his mother. one of the latest victims of covid-19 in this state. with so many dead across india, cremation costs have soared. some families