Minsk

Poland said it blocked a bid by hundreds of migrants to illegally enter the country from Belarus on Nov. 8, warning of an "armed" escalation as thousands more massed near the border.

As the latest grim chapter of Europe's migrant crisis unfolded, Washington and Brussels called on Minsk to stop what they described as an orchestrated influx.

Migrants massed on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland: Image: Polish Ministry of Defence

The Polish government called an extraordinary meeting of the crisis management team for 1pm Central Europe Time (CET). At the time of publishing, the standoff on the ground appears to be stable, with no major incidents as yet.

Lithuanian border guards stopped more than 2,000 illegal Asian and African migrants coming from Belarus over the month of tough measures in force in the Baltic nation to prevent breaches of its territory,

"Over the past month since the government decided on an enhanced border protection policy, over 2,000 illegal migrants have been pushed back to Belarus," the statement says.

Lithuania plans to build a barrier on the border with Belarus and deploy troops to prevent migrants from illegally crossing into its territory, news wires reported. According to PM Ingrida Simonyte, more than 1,000 migrants had been held after crossing the border since 1 June.

Only those who have permanent residence permits in a foreign country are allowed to leave the country. The opposition assessed it as "an absolute violation of the law".

There is growing international outrage against Belarus for what's being described as the 'hijacking' of a passenger plane carrying an opposition activist. The RyanAir flight from Athens was diverted and forced to land in Minsk, where Roman Protasevich was detained.

Belarusian Transport Ministry announced that Hamas was behind the bomb threat that allegedly forced a Ryanair flight to land in Minsk on May 23, reports the Belarusian news.

"We are different people, free, respecting democracy. We understand that Ukrainians live there. And we respect the citizens of Ukraine ... There will be no massacre ... We are a different government. For us, the most important thing is human life. Therefore, I do not see such conclusions", Zelensky pointed out in an interview with "1 + 1" television.

The "Golden Girls" of Bulgaria won the title in the hoop qualification and two pairs of bats at the World Challenge Cup rhythmic gymnastics tournament in Minsk, Belarus.

Turkish athletes won 15 medals in the 2019 European Games held in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.