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Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Belarus has earned the nickname of the “last dictatorship in Europe”. The country has certainly been living up to that nickname over the past year, fixing elections and locking up dissidents, some of whom – it is reported – are tortured while in detention. But on Sunday it took the outrageous step of forcing a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius in Lithuania to land instead at its capital Minsk, claiming a “bomb threat”.
Once the flight had landed, two of its passengers were detained by Belarusian security: one, Roman Protasevich, is a prominent dissident journalist and blogger who had been living in exile in Poland. The other, his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega, is a law student. As yet, it is unknown what is likely to happen to Protasevich in Belarus, but ominously the authorities there say he is in hospital with a “heart condition”, similar to another Belarusian dissident who died in custody last weekend. However the manner of his detention breaks a host of international and human rights laws. The EU has already issued sanctions against Belarus, including banning its flights from European airspace. There is also mounting pressure on the UK to act.
Meanwhile, here are five satellite images that show us how much – and how quickly – Earth is changing. And tomorrow, people in the UK will be able to see a super blood Moon. You can read all about it here.
Weeks like this bring home to us all the importance of expert knowledge and opinion. But we can’t do it without you. In the final week of our campaign, do take the opportunity to make a donation so we can continue to grow. And a huge thank you to the many people who have already dug deep to help.
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Jonathan Este
Associate Editor, International Affairs Editor
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Thorn in Lukashenko’s side: Roman Protasevich arrested at a rally in Minsk, March 2017.
EPA-EFE/Tatyana Zenkovich
Jennifer Mathers, Aberystwyth University
Fears grow for the young dissident journalist after he was taken off a Ryanair flight.
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Stocktrek Images, Inc. / Alamy
Jonathan Bamber, University of Bristol
Earth observation satellites can measure millimetre changes in sea level and track deforestation in near-real time.
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Shutterstock/CHEN HSI FU
Osnat Katz, UCL
A total lunar eclipse will be visible from parts of Australia, Asia and the western parts of North and South America on May 26.
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Politics + Society
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Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou, University of Liverpool; Arman Sarvarian, University of Surrey
Can Belarus claim to have been within its rights to divert a Ryanair flight and detain passengers?
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Paul James Cardwell, University of Strathclyde
Economic measures are the preferred choice for a country or countries hoping to show they are taking action in a time of international crisis.
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Anastasiya Byesyedina, University of Sydney
Belarus' leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has gone to extraordinary measures to cling to power. Last weekend, this included the state-sanctioned hijacking of a passenger plane.
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Lee John Curley, The Open University; James Munro, The Open University; Jim Turner, The Open University; Lara Frumkin, The Open University
Scotland's not proven verdict is under scrutiny yet again. With calls for reform, who is best placed to inform any review?
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Megan Todd, University of Central Lancashire
Is it even possible to respect faith leaders' desires to uphold the harmful practice while outlawing it?
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Health + Medicine
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Gabriel Recchia, University of Cambridge
How likely are false positives or negatives when you take a PCR test for COVID?
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Sanjay Mishra, Vanderbilt University
The COVID-19 vaccines are a smash success. But that doesn't mean they keep every vaccinated person completely free of the coronavirus.
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Charles James Steward, Coventry University
Using hot baths or saunas shouldn't be considered as a substitute for exercise. But they can mimic some of the health benefits.
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Arts + Culture
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John Schofield, University of York
The government plans to cut university subsidy for teaching archaeology by 50%, yet it's never been more relevant to society.
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Business + Economy
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Mehdi Shiva, University of Oxford
The infrastructure and levels of deprivation in poorer countries have prevented them from benefiting from containment measures as much as richer nations.
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Environment + Energy
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David Comerford, University of Stirling
In setting new tax on the carbon emissions of goods being imported into the bloc, there are two potential disasters for EU to avoid.
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Featured events
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Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], CF10 3BA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Cardiff University
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Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, Birmingham, B4 7ET, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Aston University
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Online Oxford Martin School Event, Online, Oxfordshire, N/A, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Oxford
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Online, Birmingham, Warwickshire, B15 2TT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Birmingham
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