‘March of neighbors’
Opposition protesters in Belarus took to the streets of the capital Minsk on Sunday in the latest of three months of demonstrations against the re-election of strongman president Alexander Lukashenko.
Minsk police said on Sunday that around 250 people were taken into custody. Riot police were deployed in large numbers, with the reported use of stun grenades and tear gas.
Back from hiatus
Nord Stream 2 will resume construction in early December one year after work came to a halt under U.S. pressure, the company behind the German-Russian natural gas pipeline announced.
U.S. lawmakers are meanwhile racing, with reported help from Ukrainian lobbyists, to enact sanctions by the end of the year that would target pipe-laying vessels and other businesses that would insure, test, inspect and certify the pipeline.
Hunting accidents
At least two Russian officials have been accidentally shot and killed on hunting trips over the weekend.
A republic of Bashkortostan senior emergency situations official was fatally wounded in the shoulder while the deputy mayor of Novouralsk in the Sverdlovsk region died after being wounded in the leg.
Fatal re-enactment
An armored personnel carrier ran over and killed the 38-year-old stepson of construction mogul Arkady Skorov at a military re-enactment celebrating his stepbrother's birthday in St. Petersburg.
Authorities launched a criminal investigation into safety standards violations against the head of a patriotic organization who was said to have been behind the wheel.
Crowded house
Authorities announced a probe into popular rapper Basta’s two-night concert at the Ice Palace arena in St. Petersburg after footage on social media showed fans not adhering to social distancing rules.
An initial probe did not uncover violations while organizers said the footage, which showed fans holding up lighters and singing along, was “too blurry,” local media reported.
AFP contributed reporting to this article.
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