Belarus
Lukashenko says he may quit as president
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would step down after a new constitution is adopted, state media reported. "I am not going to be the president once the new constitution is in place," he said.
Belarus hits EU with tit-for-tat sanctions
The Belarusian government hit the EU and a number of European countries with tit-for-tat sanctions on November 22 and suspended all dialogue with the EU on human rights, according to the Belarusian Foreign Minister, Vladimir Makei.
Belarusian police introduce colour-coded torture system for detained protesters
Belarusian police have introduced a colour-coded system for marking detainees that determines how severely they will be beaten, according to reports posted on social media
Kremlin publicly condemns Belarusian police brutality in hint of growing frustration with Lukashenko
There have been a string of signs from the Kremlin that it is slowly losing patience with Belarus' self-appointed President Alexander Lukashenko as the brutality of his repressive tactics continues to ratchet up.
Just how close is Belarus to an economic crisis?
Gripped with the lingering political turmoil, the Belarusian economy is sinking despite a $1.5bn loan lifeline thrown to it by the Kremlin to help Belarus’ self-appointed leader Alexander Lukashenko tough out a huge political and economic crisis.
Belarus OMON arrest and torture demonstrators defending slain protester's impromptu memorial at weekend march
Hundreds of Belarusian OMON riot police clashed with demonstrators at the “Square of Changes”, were trying to prevent them from dismantling a makeshift memorial to the 31-year-old Raman Bandarenka, who was beaten to death earlier that week.
Coronacrisis to get worse before it gets better forecasts wiiw
Most of CEE is heading for a double-dip recession this year as the latest wave of the crisis will result in fresh contractions in 4Q20, say wiiw economists.
An outpouring of grief, anger and frustration in Minsk as police beat another protester to death
There was an outpouring of grief, frustration and anger in Belarus on November 12 after police beat to death another protester who was trying to stop the authorities from removing red and white ribbons from a fence in the “Square of Change.”
Belarusian President Lukashenko makes protesting a criminal offence
Belarus' self-appointed President Alexander Lukashenko has ramped up the risk of protesting by making it a criminal offence that carries a sentence of only two weeks in jail, but could result in several years incarceration.
A record 1,000 protesters arrested at Belarus weekend demonstration
Belarusian police arrested a record 1,000 protesters at the traditional Sunday demonstrations on November 9 calling for the resignation of incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarusian reserve assets up 2.2% in October to $7.5bn
Belarus' international reserve assets totalled $7,485.6mn as of 1 November 2020, according to the preliminary data of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.
CEE Banking Sectors: In crisis and recovery mode at the same time
There is positive news for all Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) commercial bankers, market observers and investment bankers. The fresh 2020 CEE Banking Report by Raiffeisen Research paints an encouraging picture of banking in CEE.
Protest turnout falls to 10,000 at weekend rally
The number of demonstrators that turned out for the weekend Sunday rally in Minsk fell to only 10,000 as the protest movement loses some of its momentum.