<
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/23/999603575/ryanair-flight-carrying-opposition-journalist-forced-to-land-in-belarus>
"Authorities in Belarus ordered a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing
in the capital city of Minsk, after reports that a bomb was on board the
aircraft. Officials then boarded the plane and arrested Roman Protasevich, the
former editor and founder of an opposition blog and social media channel.
No explosives were found on the plane.
The flight, which had taken off in Athens and was on its way to Lithuania, was
just leaving Belarusian airspace when the bomb was reported. The Belarusian
regime says it then sent a scrambled fighter jet to escort the flight to the
Minsk airport.
The Ryanair flight made a kind of U-turn just before the Lithuanian border
before heading back toward Minsk, according the site Flightradar24. It was
closer to the Vilnius airport in Lithuania than Minsk at the time.
The act has drawn condemnation from European leaders, demanding an explanation.
Lithuania's president said the Belarusian "regime is behind the abhorrent
action" and called on NATO and the European Union to respond, while Greek Prime
Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, "We demand all passengers' immediate
release." Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the incident a
"hijacking" and called for immediate sanctions on Belarus."
Via Doc Edward Morbius.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
