Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Polls opened in Belarus in a presidential election which is almost certain to see Alexander
00:06Lukashenko win a 7th term in office.
00:12Polls have opened in Belarus in a presidential election which is all but certain to see Alexander
00:17Lukashenko win a 7th term in office.
00:21Voting got underway following a period of almost non-existent election fever.
00:26In the capital Minsk, there was an almost total absence of billboards promoting the
00:30candidates and there's been little in the way of campaigning.
00:34Seventy-year-old Lukashenko, frequently dubbed Europe's last dictator, has ruled Belarus
00:39with an iron fist since 1994.
00:43In the last election in 2020, he was declared winner with 80% of the vote.
00:49That triggered accusations of voter fraud, months of protests and a harsh crackdown leading
00:54to 65,000 arrests.
00:58Opposition figures were jailed or forced to flee.
01:01This time, the country's 7 million registered voters can choose between five candidates,
01:06only one of whom is regarded as critical of Lukashenko's rule.
01:15Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv can supply Moldova with coal to ensure
01:20its energy needs.
01:22Zelensky was speaking in Kyiv with his Moldovan counterpart, Maya Sandu.
01:27His comments come after natural gas from Russia to Europe via Ukraine ended on the 1st of
01:31January after Kyiv refused to renew a transit agreement.
01:36Moldova's pro-Russia breakaway territory of Transnistria has been particularly hard hit
01:41by that decision.
01:42It was heavily dependent on Russian gas and when that supply ended, so too did most industrial
01:48activity.
01:49Authorities in the region declared a state of emergency and implemented power cuts of
01:53up to eight hours a day.
01:56Russia says it shut off the gas to Moldova because of an alleged 688 million euro debt
02:01for past supplies, an allegation that the Moldovan government has fiercely denied.
02:07Sandu accused Russia of a calculated strategy to create social and economic chaos.
02:18Israeli authorities say displaced Palestinians won't be allowed to return to northern Gaza
02:23until a civilian hostage held by Hamas is released.
02:27Israel said Arbel Yehud should have been released by Hamas this week.
02:31A senior official for the militant group said Yehud would be released next week but gave
02:35no reasons for the apparent delay.
02:38Hundreds of Palestinians began gathering in central Gaza on Saturday, hoping to return
02:43to their homes in the north.
02:45The IDF withdrawing from populated areas to allow Palestinians to return home is one
02:50of the points agreed to in the ceasefire which came into effect on the 19th of January.
02:55Another part of the deal is the exchange of Hamas hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
03:00On Saturday, the second such exchange took place when Hamas released Karina Ariev, Daniela
03:05Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, all female Israeli soldiers.
03:11Hours later, 200 Palestinians were freed from Israeli prisons.
03:20Several ancient archaeological masterpieces have been stolen from a major exhibition at
03:24a giant museum in the Netherlands.
03:27According to the police, the museum was hit by a heavy explosion on Saturday morning.
03:32Windows were shattered and surrounding buildings were damaged in the theft.
03:36One of the stolen masterpieces is the golden helmet of Qutb al-Finishti, a loon from the
03:41National History Museum of Romania.
04:06The exhibition featured over 600 gold and silver objects from at least 15 museums across
04:31Romania, with highlights including three golden bracelets and the crown jewel of the collection.
04:38Police in the Netherlands say they have launched investigations into the theft.
04:42The exhibition, Dacia, the realm of gold and silver, closed on Sunday.