Belarus Is Isolated as Other Countries Move to Ban Flights
The New York Times
The extraordinary forced landing of a commercial flight with a Belarusian dissident aboard escalated into one of the biggest flare-ups in East-West tensions in recent years.
MOSCOW — The tray tables were being raised and the seat backs returned to their upright positions as passengers on Ryanair Flight 4978 prepared for the scheduled landing in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. Then the plane made an abrupt U-turn. For many passengers, it initially seemed like one of those unexpected delays in airline travel. But after the pilot announced the plane had been diverted to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, one passenger — Roman Protasevich, a prominent Belarusian opposition journalist who had been living in exile since 2019 — grew terrified, certain that he faced arrest. “He panicked because we were about to land in Minsk,” Marius Rutkauskas, who was sitting one row ahead of Mr. Protasevich, told the Lithuanian broadcaster LRT upon arrival in Vilnius.
The attack occurred on the same day that Israel bombed sites in the Syrian capital that the Israeli military said were affiliated with a militant group. At least 15 people were killed, Syrian state media reported.
Aides to Benjamin Netanyahu are under investigation over accusations of leaks, record-doctoring and intimidation. The Israeli prime minister’s office denies the claims.
Justin Welby, the leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, announced his resignation days after a report found he had taken insufficient action over claims of abuse.
Israel said its forces had returned to northern Gaza to fight a Hamas resurgence. That has brought a new round of suffering for residents.
The move comes just before a Biden administration deadline for Israel to deliver more aid to the enclave or risk a cutoff of military supplies.
Antisemitic assaults on visiting Israeli soccer fans, and incendiary chants and attacks by some Israelis: Here’s what we know so far about the violence in Amsterdam last week.
The president-elect’s call for Taiwan to spend more on its own defense and his complaints about its semiconductor dominance may herald a tenser relationship.
Foreign leaders have rushed to ingratiate themselves with Donald J. Trump in recent days, nervously recalling the clashes, insults and feuds of his first presidency.
Disillusionment with the world that emerged from the Cold War has fueled a long-gathering revolt against the established order.
Viktor Orban of Hungary and other right-wing European politicians hail the return of a U.S. president who shares their tough views on issues like immigration.
Another Trump term could spur Europe’s efforts to stand on its own, but it is far from clear its leaders will seize the moment this time.