President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order imposing new measures aimed at punishing Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko as the US steps up pressure against his government in co-ordinated action with the UK and Canada.
On the anniversary of the presidential election Mr Lukashenko is accused of rigging, the US will also issue its largest round of sanctions to date on Belarusian people and entities, taking aim at the country's economy and the Belarusian National Olympic Committee, a White House official said.
“Today, we are issuing a new executive order that enhances our ability to impose costs on the regime and announcing new sanctions against Belarusian individuals and entities for their role in attacks on democracy and human rights, transnational repression and corruption,” Mr Biden said in a statement on the sanctions.
“As I told the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, we stand with the people of Belarus as they bravely pursue their democratic aspirations.”
The US Treasury Department will blacklist Belaruskali OAO, which the official said is one of Belarus’s largest state-owned enterprises and one of the world’s largest producers of potash, a product used in fertilisers.
The Belarusian National Olympic Committee will also be hit with sanctions in Monday's action, the official said, over accusations it enabled money laundering, sanctions evasion and the circumvention of visa bans.
The action comes after Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya refused to board a flight home during the Olympics after she was taken to the airport against her wishes. She has since sought refugee status in Poland.
Western governments have looked to escalate pressure on Mr Lukashenko, who is accused of rigging elections in August 2020 and cracking down on the opposition to prolong his now 27 years in power. Mr Lukashenko has denied rigging the vote.
Tens of thousands of people joined street protests in 2020 — Mr Lukashenko's biggest challenge since he became president in 1994. He responded with a crackdown in which many opponents have been arrested or gone into exile. They deny planning a coup.
“One year ago today, the people of Belarus sought to make their voices heard and shape their own future through that most basic expression of democracy — an election,” Mr Biden said. “Rather than respect the clear will of the Belarusian people, the Lukashenko regime perpetrated election fraud, followed by a brutal campaign of repression to stifle dissent.
“The United States will continue to stand up for human rights and free expression, while holding [Mr Lukashenko] accountable, in concert with our allies and partners.”
The UK announced its new sanctions on Monday, focused on exports of oil products and potash. Mr Lukashenko said Britain would “choke” on its measures and that he was ready for talks with the West instead of a sanctions war.
Canada also imposed new sanctions on Belarus to protest what it called the “gross and systematic violations of human rights” under Mr Lukashenko.
The US sanctions follow an incident in May during which a Ryanair flight carrying an opposition journalist was forced into an emergency landing at Minsk airport.
Roman Protasevich and his partner Sofia Sapega were arrested on May 23 after the Belarusian military scrambled a warplane to force the landing.
Following his arrest, a video surfaced of Mr Protasevich, 26, apparently confessing to organising mass protests last year against Mr Lukashenko.
In his short statement, which appears scripted, he said he was being treated correctly and was co-operating with investigators.
Western powers responded with outrage over the incident, with the EU banning Belarusian airlines from its airspace.
Reuters contributed to this report
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo
Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 28
Sector: Financial services
Investment: $9.5m
Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors.
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMaly%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mo%20Ibrahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%20International%20Financial%20Centre%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.6%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2015%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%2C%20planning%20first%20seed%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20GCC-based%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The five pillars of Islam
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence