what i have observed is that moscow has in every way taken advantage of belarus is -- belarus' of theictatorship and will continue to do so. they will continue to use belarus for their own purposes which leaves the people of belarus with very little voice, agency in their own future. the question of what the people want for their future is one of the most significant motivators for what took place last summer. it is the desire of the people of color routes to have their own voice in their future. that is one of the pieces of the union state that concerns me greatly is what happens to them in that process? >> absolutely. again, it is a concern we had heard not just from the opposition leader but from others in the region. one of the things that i was also impressed with was the support from with the whiny of and they also mentioned: -- support from lil wayne you -- lithuania. thank you, i think there is room for us to doing awful lot more with regards with both in support of the democratic opposition outside the belarus border and there is room for us to do more in coordination with ou

, and democratic belarus. i would like to think by -- start by thanking them for the sustained commitment to belarus's future. in particular, the recent visit together with senators portman and murphy and this hearing itself are evidence of the high priority placed by the congress on belarus. 10 months ago, i appeared before this committee. that was august 5. four days before the fraudulent august 9 election and the subsequent brutal crackdown on democratic activists that ensued. four days before the world would be captivated by images of 100,000 belarusians peacefully protesting on the streets of minsk. four days before everything change, not just inside belarus but beyond its borders in the heart of europe repercussions for european security. despite the oppression, the violence and the turmoil that followed, the events of the past year provide glimmers of hope. a new generation of brave elevations with courageous women at the forefront have emerged. they represent a belarus determined to chart its own path.

belarus is a country at a crossroads. what happens next will impact the lives of future generations, not just within itsts borders bt across the continent. i thank you for the opportunity today and look forward to your questions. >> thank you, ambassador, for the insight. we will start with a series of five minute questions. i'm glad to hear you say that more sanctions are coming. i don't believe it's just for the sake of sanctions but in this case there is a clear need for them. in order to impose sanctions, the administration is relying on executive order 13405 that was issued under the bush administration in 2006. a lot has changed since then including the passage of the human rights and sovereignty act of last year. why has the administration not issued a new executive order on the sanctions, and when can we expect one? >> [inaudible] >> if you could put your microphone on, please. >> sorry about that. thank you, senator. let me assure you that is the president's statement indicated on may 28, we are working hard on a

host: western nation slap sanctions on belarus. these penalties are increasingly used to punish a country's behavior, but do they work? and what are the diplomatic alternatives. this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program. belarus is facing new sanctions. the eu, u.s. and canada say they are presenting a united front. the action follows the forced diversion of a plane. the crackdown on protests against the disputed election when last year. the new charges included travel ban. the leader says they send a clear and powerful message. >> ready to support a future democratic belarus with a comprehensive fan -- plan of economic support of up to $3 billion. supporting it might help right now with sanctions. [indiscernible] continue to put pressure on the regime. >> the department of state and treasury designated 62 individuals and five entities in response to continuing repression, we did this partners and allies and with these actions we are demonstrating our deep and shared concern regarding the activities. host: sanctions ar

sarah: in belarus, they try to topple our president. response has been brutal. >> it's very bad news for a patient in these times. sarah: the west is punishing him with sanctions but russia has his back. and yet the demand for change has gone nowhere. on the streets of minsk, life looks calm now, orderly. but last summer, the presidential election ignited a political crisis in belarus that is still smoldering. i went to meet one of many here whose lives have been transformed. he ran a bar he was in opposition activists, too. last august he was arrested. [speaking foreign language] sarah: last year, vast crowds came out demanding change in colorado and an end to a quarter century man's rule. -- of one man's rule. sarah: his time with his son is limited. he still has to serve a year somewhere far from home. many have already fled. those who remain are mostly keeping their heads down. belarus has seen cycles of protest, but not on this scale. there are hundreds of people behind bars. i've never known belarus like this, not in all the years

targeting belarus yet again. the european union expands sanctions on sectors of the economy to increase pressure on longtime leader alexander lukashenko. and how to silence a free press. a leading voice of hong kong democracy may be no more in a matter of days as the government freezes the assets of the apple daily newspaper. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs and the united states at all of you around the world, welcome. we begin with the election in ethiopia. opposition officials say they have faced harassment the elections despite the prime minister's promises of a fair and peaceful vote polling places have extended their hours to accommodate the long lines. this election is a delayed election. voting was scheduled to take place last year before the pandemic arrived. the coronavirus is not the only obstacle standing between ethiopians and a truly nationwide vote. >> it is election day in ethiopia but in the region, it is difficult to tell. people are in a humanitarian crisis that began last november. viol

well, with respect to _ belarus and russia? well, with respect to belarus _ belarus and russia?viously we want the international community to push for it not only for roman protasevich and sofia sapega's freedom but the freedom of literally dozens and dozens ofjournalists who are behind bars now plus the literally hundreds of activists who are behind bars as well. we want to make, we want to make it easierfor, we want to make, we want to make it easier for, we want the west to support belarus' civil society and every possible way, including by making it as easy as possible for students, for young people, for activists to study, to have internships, et cetera, away from belarus. thank you very much. a buckingham palace source has told the bbc that the queen was never asked for permission by prince harry and meghan to name their daughter lilibet, which was the queen's childhood nickname. earlier today, the law firm schillings, which acts for the couple, has written to some news organisations saying that claim is false and defamatory. 0ur royal correspondent jonny dymond says that

i limited belarus or also russian individuals?— limited belarus or also russian individuals?ted, obviously, - individuals? i would say lukashenko still is supported, obviously, very i still is supported, obviously, very much _ still is supported, obviously, very much by— still is supported, obviously, very much by the russian regime. i would include _ much by the russian regime. i would include partly the russian individuals who helped lukashenko, who are _ individuals who helped lukashenko, who are also now in charge of journalist _ who are also now in charge of journalist media of rash preventative, but also in terms of financial— preventative, but also in terms of financial transaction. preventative, but also in terms of financialtransaction. i preventative, but also in terms of financial transaction. i think we should — financial transaction. i think we should also include a russian individual. before we go, an african pouched rat who won a prestigious award for detecting landmines in cambodia, is finally retiring. this is magawa, who sniffed out more than 70 landmines du

in belarus, they tried to topple a president. the response has been brutal.his dangerous time. now, president lukashenko has diverted a plane to catch a critic. the west is punishing him with sanctions, but russia has his back. and yet the demand for change has gone nowhere. on the streets of minsk, life looks calm now, orderly. but last summer, a presidential election ignited a political crisis in belarus that's still smoldering. i went to meet one of many here whose lives have been transformed. lvon ran a bar, but he was an opposition activist, too. and last august, he was arrested. he didn't see miki for six months. last year, vast crowds came out demanding change in belarus — an end to a quarter of a century of one man's iron rule. alexander lukashenko teetered but never fell. levon�*s time with his son is limited. he still has to serve a year of correctional labour somewhere farfrom home. many have already fled. those who remain are mostly keeping their heads down. belarus has seen cycles of protest and repression before, but not on this scale. there are

reporter: scenes and belarus last summer caught in the documentary "courage." they look like images from another era. the film follows three actors turned protesters. last summer, they were full of hope forhange. now, all three live in exile. >> ty decided to leave belarus because it was not possible to walk and live in this fear. they decided to move to kiev. right now, all of them are in exile in kyiv. -- in kiev. reporter: after their participation and band demonstrations against alexander lukashenko, both were arrested and detained for 15 days at a prison in minsk. here is where families gather to find out the fate of their loved ones. arrested or disappeared by the regime. as soon as they were released, they left the country. she was the last ago. -- the last to go. ♪ >> even before the crackdowns, the actors were banned from performing. making art and side belarus simpson possible at the moment. -- seems impossible at the moment. but they believe the country needs artists now more than ever. >> to try to help people to overcome their fear, overcome their

how safe is it for critical journalists in belarus right now?ow safe do you feel after what happened? alexandra: you know, it is actually not safe today in belarus. my colleagues are now in prison, and recently the regime attacked the biggest news, and we realized journalists and free press is under attack for now. nothing changed with this conference. i think we should continue to work, continue to report, because i think it is our duty. we should provide people reliable information. anchor:e hope you stayafe as well. alexandra in minsk, thank you. alexandra: thank you. anchor: to another country experiencing a rollback of rights, myanmar. the trial of the leader got un derway today, she faces charges including but -- rick and covid restrictions and illegal possession of walkie-talkies. her lawyers and human rights groups dismissed the charges as bogus, and they say this is an attempt for the military to cement power. reporter: this photo of the leader attending a hearing in may is the only known image since the military coup. even her legal te

_ belarus dissident was apprehended by force~ such— belarus dissident was apprehended by force.ts cannot be tolerated and we need - force. such events cannot be tolerated and we need to - force. such events cannot be l tolerated and we need to unite force. such events cannot be - tolerated and we need to unite to make _ tolerated and we need to unite to make sure — tolerated and we need to unite to make sure it— tolerated and we need to unite to make sure it won't _ tolerated and we need to unite to make sure it won't happen, - tolerated and we need to unite to make sure it won't happen, but i tolerated and we need to unite tol make sure it won't happen, but on the other— make sure it won't happen, but on the other hand _ make sure it won't happen, but on the other hand is _ make sure it won't happen, but on the other hand is a _ make sure it won't happen, but on the other hand is a mixed - make sure it won't happen, but on the other hand is a mixed signal. the other hand is a mixed signal coming — the other hand is a mixed signal coming from _ the other hand is a mixed signal c

that's a decision for the belarus people to make. we should stand squarely behind their right to make it. now with the downing of this plane, with a state-sponsored hijacking having taken place, we need to send an unequivocal message to the world and dictators that if you cross this line there will be costs. i think there will be sanctions. maybe that doesn't have an immediate impact in belarus, but it at least has a chilling affect on this kind of behavior in other parts of the world. we need to support other mechanisms to try to uncover what's happening in belarus. we talked in our hearing about supporting independent journalists, make sure there are people inside and outside of minsk that are telling the story. so it's not -- we get so hung up on sanctions that we forget there are other ways to get under the skin of dictators and supporting independent journalists, supporting the true story of his brutal regime, that can go a long way towards helping the pro-democracy movement there. >> it's a remarkable thing how potent truly ind

for human rights and laws, and we really think that it's important that belarus is discussed on suchutin put more pressure lukashenko to release political prisoners in belarus and use sanctions. that is very important. >> let's talk about sanctions for a moment. the u.s. ambassador julie fisher told senators of the senate foreign relations committee that the biden administration was preparing, excuse me, a new wave of sanctions. what additional steps are needed to force president lukashenko to change course? >> it is the most powerful reach to put pressure lukashenko because we have already in our history that only sanctions helped belarusians to release political prisoners nine years ago, and it's very important to act jointly with european union, with canada and the uk just to aid lukashenko economically and politically, but that is one side. on the other side, we need to support civil society in belarus who is suffering a lot and since august and at the moment it's 495 political prisoners and it is destroyed in belarus and the workers have been fired from the enterprises we need t

meanwhile, belarus 's ally russia _ people. meanwhile, belarus 's ally russia says _ people.e. meanwhile, belarus 's ally russia says it is _ people. meanwhile, belarus 's ally russia says it is planning | ally russia says it is planning to conduct thousands of military training exercises like these once in 2017 over the summer. translation: the main efforts will be directed at improving individual performance and maintaining the intensity of combat training. the main outcome of the academic year will be thejoint outcome of the academic year will be the joint russian belarusian strategic exercises. backin belarusian strategic exercises. back in belarus, commits health ministry said stepan latypov �*s condition is stable and non—life threatening. but president alexander lukashenko has now added a travel ban for most citizens following his harsh crackdown on opposition activists since his heavily contested election victory last august. showing that while he seeks to strengthen his grip on his disputed rule, he is intent on providing little escape for those unwilling to accept i

. >> the european union has banned belarus aircraft from flying over the block pulse -- the box airspacethat's the block -- a block's airspace. roman protasevich appeared on a television station in numbers. his family says he was coerced into making a confession on tv. >> in an appearance on national television, roman protasevich praises the president of belarus and admits that trying to topple him by spearheading protests, a confession the leader of the opposition says was visibly made under duress. >> you should understand in what conditions these people are. they are for sure being tortured and violated. we should not believe any of the words of these people. >> it is the third time the dissident john list has made such an appearance since he was arrested after his flight to this weightier -- to lithuania was forced to land. human rights campaigners say he was tortured. his parents have denounced the treatment of their son. >> he said those things because someone needed him to do it. it is obvious that the authorities needed to justify their own criminal actions. >> protests erted acr

eu investors will not be able to trade stocks in belarus or by short-term bonds. eu banks cannot provide investment services, and on top of that, there will be certain export and import restrictions, including stopping the eu from buying oil products from belarus. when many eu banks pulled out of belarus last year, austrian lenders actually increased activity, so they are said to be impacted by these sanctions as well. this is not a done deal just yet. eu foreign ministers are to meet on monday when they are likely to approve visa bans and asset freezes on some 80 television countries -- companies -- some 80 belarusian companies. food and drink exports to the eu have almost halved in the first three months of the year. trade groups say it is a sign of things to come as you can manufacturers adjust to life after brexit. >> for british producers, it could be an indication of how post-brexit trade barriers will affect their business. exports were down 47% from 2020 in the first quarter of 2021, a loss of 4.6 billion euros. measured over two years, the decline is even

more sanctions on belarus.— sanctions on belarus. president lukashenko _ sanctions on belarus. lukashenko and _ sanctions on belarus. president lukashenko and them - sanctions on belarus. president lukashenko and them came - sanctions on belarus. president| lukashenko and them came and opposition after arresting an opposition after arresting an opposition to endless on aeroplane. —— arresting an opposition journalist. let's begin a comprehensive update on the pandemic. today isjune 21st — the date when borisjohnson had hoped all covid—i9 restrictions in england would be lifted. it wasn't to be. with the number of cases rising — a delay and a new date were announced. today, we got a further update from the prime minister. i think you can never exclude that there will be some new horror that there will be some new disease or horror that we simply haven't budgeted for or accounted for, but looking at where we are and the efficacy of the vaccines against all variants we can currently see, alpha, delta, the lot of them, capa, i think it is looking good forjuly the 19th to be that te

russia and belarus announcing new military exercises together. russia announcing they are sending belarus a $500 million valentine. good job sending the fighter jet to go take down a passenger plane so you could arrest and torture a 26-year-old journalist. what else do you need from us to protect you from any consequences of that? biden's mad. the world's mad. don't worry. we'll take care of you. you're our kind of guy. and they're not like doing this subtly to shore up lukashenko right? they're bragging about this, bragging about how in your face this is particularly to the united states particularly to president joe biden ahead of this summit in two weeks. the deputy foreign minister in russia just yesterday bragged to russian state tv that before the summit with biden, quote, the americans must assume that a number of signals from moscow will be uncomfortable for them, including in the coming days. meaning oh, you don't like these things heading up to the summit? there's more coming. you're not going to like it. so, i mean, obviously here is a

mr 0'leary presumably meaning belarus there, not ukraine.history, and in the 80 years since the 1945 convention, that an air traffic control system or a state agency would fabricate a case such as this to persuade, encourage or effectively leave the crew with no alternative other than to divert to an airport in that state which we would normally not flight. i'm sure there is anyway of training our people, or training air employees to verify in the moment whether this is credible, or is this a bad actor? we must operate on the basis of pilots being in a small cockpit with restricted communications. the only way of communicating through the air traffic control system. and he warned the incident could have far—reaching consequences. it is absolutely vital that the strongest sanctions are taken in the short term, but as quickly as possible, we need to be able with confidence to ensure that the air routes from europe to asia can be reopened and that there will be no recurrence of this kind of interference by state—sponsored actors, whether in bel

kong and russia's rollover belarus?— kong and russia's rollover belarus? . ., ., ,, ., , belarus?ow is that the highest compliance i that the highest compliance comes with the g7 commitment on political security. that includes of course nuclear non—proliferation. it includes regional security, think ukraine for example. and since the g7 summit was founded with a very clear, distinct mission, to protect with its own countries, think election interference, to promote globally the values of open democracy and human rights, very much, i think, they will be true to their word and the commitment they made. hong kong, the uighur muslims and so much else, we will see strong commitments and strong compliance as well. we look forward to — compliance as well. we look forward to seeing _ compliance as well. we look forward to seeing if- compliance as well. we look forward to seeing if they - compliance as well. we look forward to seeing if they do | forward to seeing if they do keep their promises this year. thank you so much forjoining us. the eu has doubled down on its threat to take action

she said the country is becoming, belarus is becoming the north korea of europe.hat's what lukashenko is doing there. and that, of course, has implications not only for by the russians and the way they live, but also for how much of a threat that poses to europe and that neighborhood as putin, again, embraces that country as its dictator seems to be going off the rails. do you expect there will be new sanctions there, and this is potentially a new global flash point the president is going to have to confront on this trip? >> a remarkable leader, i was in lithuania with them last week meeting with them. and we should offer her and her democratic movement support. listen, does it matter to the u.s. in the end whether belarus is aligned with russia, or aligned with the west? probably not. that's a decision for the belarusian people to. make we should stand squarely behind their right to make it. and now with the downing of this plane, with a state sponsored hijacking having taken place, we need to send a message to the world and other dictators who would be dictators

let's start with the belarus for a moment.ctively as a collective body between the western powers >>well, we decided that, frankly, doing it together would send a stronger message and exert more effective pressure on the lukashenko regime to do two things. to stop their aggress and the prosecution and the violence against civil society and opposition politicians, and to -- within the country with the citizens. to be able to move to a democracy. and, you know, we -- the most massive number of them of 86 sanctions on individuals and by doing it together, they will send a message. >> as you're probably aware, some of the belarus opposition leaders have said that the crisis is deepening in belarus. do you believe that sanctions are enough to help the belarus people and political prisoners? >> we're doing much more, as you, of course, know. the political pressure is there all the time. the political engagement, as well. not just with the government but also with the civil society and the people on the ground while facing the conseq

in a one—hour tv interview in belarus where he pledged his support for the belarusian president and,of his supporters noted that, you know, he had marks on his wrist which indicated that, you know, he had been tortured. so here you have a case of two pro—democracy activists, you know, campaigning against authoritarian regimes who are now sitting in prison and it isjust a sad state of the world that, you know, they are just two of many other activists in similar situations. you think the world, the democratic world, if you like, does enough? there have been a lot of protests and strong words about those things that you are talking about but is there enough action? well, you know, not enough. we are confronting these authoritarian regimes that are routinelyjailing, you know, activists. and it pops up in the news and then we forget about it, which is why i wanted to highlight the plight of the activist in belarus because it is easy to move on in the cycle and forget that these people are still sitting injail. so i don't actually think there was another that is done and not enough attent

samantha: should sanctions be limited to belarus, or also russian individuals?y that lukashenk still is supported, very much, by the russian regime, by putin, by the government. i would include partly the russian individuals who helped lukashenko, who are also now in charge of journalists, media representatives, but also in terms of financial transactions, we should include russian individuals in that package. samantha: thank you for joining us and giving us your thoughts this evening. >> thank you. samantha: thousands of police patrolling hong kong to stop people from commemorating the anniversary of the 1989 massacre in beijing's tiananmen square. officials band individuals for the second year citing coronavirus restrictions. some reportedly marked the event by shining their phone torches. large part of victoria park where people usually gather have been closed for last year, thousands flooded into the park, defying the band. anyone -- defined the ban. -- defining the ban. reporter: for the past three decades, hong kong's victoria park has been turned into a s

and supported _ neighbourhood in belarus. and supported him _ neighbourhood in belarus.ir piracy where plane was forced _ supported him an air piracy where plane was forced down _ supported him an air piracy where plane was forced down and - supported him an air piracy where plane was forced down and a - plane was forced down and a dissident _ plane was forced down and a dissident was _ plane was forced down and a dissident was apprehended i plane was forced down and a . dissident was apprehended and plane was forced down and a - dissident was apprehended and so forth _ dissident was apprehended and so forth such— dissident was apprehended and so forth. such events _ dissident was apprehended and so forth. such events cannot - dissident was apprehended and so forth. such events cannot be - forth. such events cannot be tolerated _ forth. such events cannot be tolerated and _ forth. such events cannot be tolerated and we _ forth. such events cannot be tolerated and we need - forth. such events cannot be tolerated and we need to - forth. such events cannot be . tolerated an

time to turn our eye to focus on the situation in belarus.ust over a month since aircraft was basically hijacked. so the authorities could sees a dissident journalist. don't forget that was a passenger aircraft. it is part of the ongoing situation where there have been street protests going on for many weeks. the e.u. has been talking about further sanctions against the president lukashenko and his regime. >> in warsaw in an undisclosed location, this police defectors grows through pictures of some of his former colleagues work. >> we had order to hurt protesters so badly that someone would not be physically capable of protesting the next day. they would not be able to go outside. >> he got out. but many police officers full supporty the dtatorship, he says. while others feel trapped. >> they have got a file on every police commander. detailing crimes he allegedly committed. that's how the authorities keep them under control. if you do not follow orders, you go to jail. >> this justice system is currently holding over 400 political prisoners.

. the turmoil in belarus.ry- important moment for europe to see american leadership because, for many years, i for the past few years, | for the past four years, a lot of europeans, _ particularly in eastern europe, were really not sure where they stand. l in terms of president putin, clearly he stroked president putin's ego with his invitation to meet one—on—one as if these were two leaders of two superpowers meeting like the old days, with then saying this guy is a serious guy and we have to respect him. but whenjoe biden says we will return what you do in kind unless you co—operate over things like cyber attacks. does president putin really have cause to take that seriously? president putin understands i power and understands force. for the past few years he has been able to claim _ escalation dominance partly or largely- in that knowledge that there would be no push back. - there will be no push back after the reset of- america's relationship with russia in 2008, i by barack obama. there will certainly be

arrested belarus journalist roman protasevich has appeared again on state television tea rfully confessing to organising anti—government protests. his family say he was clearly speaking under duress. leading hong kong pro—democracy activist chow hang—tung has been detained by police as the city braces itself for protests on the anniversary of the tiananmen square massacre. the prime minister of nepal makes an urgent plea to the uk prime minister borisjohnson to provide vaccines for his country, as it undergoes a severe second wave of covid—19. supersonic flights could return to the skies as a major airline conditionally agrees to buy jets capable of flying at speeds twice as fast as modern planes and twitter introduces a new subscription service, but will users want to pay? hello and welcome. the detained bela rusian opposition journalist roman protasevich has appeared again on state television, tearfully confessing to helping to organise anti—government protests. he is also seen recanting his criticism of belarus' authoritarian president, alexander lu kashenko. his family and opposition g

it receives attention sporadically when it breaks into the news for unfortunate reasons is belarus.ressed this way and the plane has been hijacked as we know and the opponents have been snatched off the plane, and it's tragic it's happening in europe in the 21st century. this story has also much wider importance for the world. notjust for humanitarian reasons, although they should not be underestimated, but belarus, the small european country that has been in the midst of tragedies of the 20th century is really important today for how the relationship changes and shakes out between the west and russia. everyone is watching that as a potential theatre of action. russia considers it its backyard and the only reason lukashenko is in power, let's be honest, is because of russia's backing. it's all the more important for america and europe to impose sanctions now on lukashenko's regime which will serve as a message to russia. it's also a message too, it's a small country which including china, has been a traditional backer of lukashenko. a lot of things could be decided, a lot of decisio

cnn's frederik pleitgen is monitoring events in belarus from berlin.ick, this new video is peoneven more damning when y look at it closely. >> you are absolutely right, jake. and certainly, causing even more outrage than a lot of the other events that we have seen around the detention of roman protasevich. he clearly looks like he's very much under duress. that he certainly isn't doing that voluntarily. but what we did is actually focused into one part of the interview, where he is sort of holding his hands in front of his face. breaks down several times and sort of touches his face with his hands and there, you can see, he has some clear bruise and even blood marks on his wrist. which clearly points to the fact he seemed to have handcuffs on in a tight way and for an excessive period of time. now, in the interview, he allegedly said that he was doing voluntarily. but certainly, it doesn't seem as though anyone in the international community is buying that, certainly. the opposition isn't buying that. as you mentioned, he then said that he was pleading

europe, russia has been one of the main worries, particularly since 2014 and the war in ukraine, belarusery important moment for europe to see american leadership because for many years, for the past few years a lot of europeans particularly in eastern europe were not sure where they stand. in terms of president putin, clearly he stroked his ego with his invitation to meet one—on—one as if and two superpowers meeting like the old days. but whenjoe biden says we will return what you do in kind unless you co—operate on things like cyber attacks, does president putin really have cause to take that seriously? president putin understands power and understands force. for the past few years he has been able to claim escalation dominance partly or largely in that knowledge that there would be no push back. after the reset of americans relationship with russia in 2008 by barack obama. there wil be no real pushback from donald trump. i think in his press conference and they had individual press conferences, it's quite interesting thatjoe biden tried to walk a very tight line here. on the one hand

it is definitely worth it for pro-democracy advocates in belarus. host: what will happen to currency and coins? guest: you know, i think there are folks in the bitcoin community who probably make too many noises about how bitcoin is going to dominate all economic systems and nobody will use dollars anymore and nobody will use banks anymore. i think that is foolhardy. the fact of the matter is there is going to be times when a bitcoin transaction is what you want. definitely if you are in an oppressive state like nigeria or belarus, you may find it more useful to use bitcoin. in the u.s., we have a stable banking system. we have the rule of law and a well-functioning government, although some of your callers might disagree and sometimes i disagree. but generally speaking, we have a good situation here from a financial infrastructure standpoint. so, generally speaking, you will probably still use credit cards and venmo and things like that. but maybe you will want to buy some bitcoin because it will be eight way to balance your investment portfolio ag

the dictator in question is belarus strongman and evilnutcracker, alexander lukashenko.has ruled belarus for 26 years, but after polls showed him waybehind, lukashenko rigged the recent election. man. hugo chavez' ghost gets around. that led to massive protests and thousands of arrests, forcing the opposition to flee the country. one of those opposition leaders, journalist roman protasaevich, was on a ryanair flight from athens to vilnius, lithuania. once the plane was over belarus air space, someone on the plane called in a phony bomb threat at which point lukashenko personally ordered a mig-29 fighter jet to escort the ryanair plane to the minsk airport. (as pilot) attention passengers. on your right, you'll see the beautiful historic mir castle, and to your left is a mig-29 fighter jet armed with heat seeking missiles whose targeting mechanisms are currently locked onto our plane. the flight attendants will be coming around in a few moments with the drink cart, hoods, and zip-ties. thank you for flying ryanair. the plane sat on the tarmac for seven hours, no bomb was

to give you an answer, the question of belarus, i think, is an important one. you remember that last month a commercial airliner was forced to land in belarus over claims there was a bomb scare. in fact, a journalist on board was arrested. belarus is run by a president who is often described as europe's last dictator. he is close to president putin. i wanted to ask president putin about it. what you'll hear in this piece of sound is president putin doing what he does often. we can call it what-aboutism. i asked him about the plane being forced down, the airliner, he talks about, what about the time back in 2013 when the leader of bolivia's plane was forced to land in europe because people thought that snowden might be on board? take a listen. >> did you have prior knowledge that a commercial airliner would be forced to land in belarus and that a journalist would be arrested? >> translator: no. i did not know about this. i didn't know about any airliner. i didn't know about the individuals who were detained there subsequently. i found out about it from the media

. _ that is why president putin has leaned on this other dictator. in his neighbourhood in belarus.acy where a plane was forced down and a dissident was apprehended and so forth _ i such events cannot be tolerated, i and we need to unite to make sure |that won't happen, but on the other| hand, there is a mixed signal coming from the biden administration. he's shown himself willing to reconsider some of- the approaches towards russia. for example, he has waived sanctions against the company which built - in germany the gas pipeline, which was a very big - issue in the beginning. of the biden presidency. and so that has been moved off the table, and their meeting, . which is a way to recognise russia as an important ally, _ and they can talk about common problems like covid, _ probably even the middle east . and other issues the world over. so there is a reason for trying to work a relationship. - now, that said, i am not very- hopeful it will happen straightaway. earlier, president biden . was asked in an interview, do you think that president putin is a killer and he said yes. - and

on belarus,... pa. know what mr biden is saying. on belarus-u— belarus,... i talks between the two leaders? i think given where they started out, they went reasonably well and the outcomes about what i would've expected. no great breakthroughs, but some commitment to continue to find a way to talk to one another and address issues that are clearly dangerous for the two of us. {lilia dangerous for the two of us. ok, ambassador— dangerous for the two of us. ok, ambassador james _ dangerous for the two of us. ok, ambassadorjames f collins, ambassadorjames f collins, ambassador to russia, us ambassador to russia cub between 1997—2001 for some thank you very much indeed for joining us. so we continue to wait for a solo press conference by the us presidentjoe biden cub to see whether or not he echoes vladimir putin's version of the summit, we see whether or not he gives a more optimistic cub more pessimistic version of events, and where the us red lines were. so we will bring that life to you here on bbc news, but for now i hand you back to london. mark, thank you

belarus are working closely together-— belarus are working closely together.kdown if that happens from borisjohnson later. let's catch up with the weather with carol. hello again. yesterday was the warmest day of this year so far, the temperature reached 26.1 celsius in cardiff. today for some, it could be even warmer still. but we've got some thundery showers, mainly in southern areas as we go through the course of today. and it's courtesy of this area of low pressure, bringing them in, moving northwards and eastwards and as well as that, it's also bringing in some warmer air. a noticeable breeze today as well, more or less wherever you are. we have some cloud across the coastline of north—east england and eastern scotland, and if anything, we can report more of that across the course of today. as the showers push inwards, getting into wales, midlands, possibly clipping the south—east of england as well. in between, there will be some sunshine, but clouding over in northern ireland. top temperatures, 27 in the south—east, possibly a little bit more, but widel

so we were invited to this briefing here in minsk, in belarus, because the belarus authorities said theyappened to the ryanair plane that was diverted last month with the blogger and activist roman protasevich on board, and he was arrested of course here in minsk. so we came here at relatively short notice and they facilitated our visas for coming here, we were brought to this press conference, and then just as it was about to start a label was changed and it became clear that roman protasevich, the man detained on board this plane, was going to be taking part. in effect, we had been duped into coming here, basically, to try and lend credibility to this press event. he is clearly not here under his own free will. he is being held in detention centres here in minsk. some people have suggested he may also have been tortured. when it became clear to us that he was there, he was going to be taking part in the press conference, well, for us, that was impossible for us to be there any longer so we have walked out of that press briefing, which is still going on behind us now. that was jonah fis

let's begin with the belarus question. can you tell us to what degree russia is intruding in this instance and tell us about russian strategy and what that means for defense of the eastern flank. i'd add russia and belarus in been integrating and russia is finding more of its troops in its western military districts. in other words very close to nato's eastern border. >> i cannot go into details about intelligence they are very close together, working closer together and then you can also see what has taken place in the forced landing of this plane and the state hijacking of a civilian aircraft. russia is trying to excuse and explain that outrageous action which was dangerous for the passengers, violating these rules and norms but there must be a way to crack down on. [inaudible] and arrest an independent journalist so we have demanded the releaseof him and his companion . we have condemned that action and i welcome the fact that the united states, united kingdom and nato allies are implementing sanctions. it has to have c