Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters packed Minsk's streets on Sunday as the army waded into the Belarus political crisis.
Huge nationwide demonstrations that erupted after the country's disputed election on August 9 have provided the biggest challenge yet to veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko's 26-year-old rule and tested the loyalty of his security forces.
The streets of Minsk turned red and white as a flood of demonstrators carried flags symbolising their opposition to Lukashenko and chanted for him to leave power and for new elections to be held.
They marched towards a monument that was surrounded by a chain of security service members clad in military uniform, a Reuters witness said.
Until now, the police have handled crowd control on their own, but the defence ministry said it would take on security around national memorials and issued a direct warning to protesters.
The interior ministry issued its own statement warning that any unsanctioned protests would be considered illegal. It said 22 people had been arrested on Saturday when smaller-scale protests took place across 55 towns and cities.
Prince Harry said on Friday that he wanted reconciliation with the British royal family but his father King Charles will not speak to him over a row over his security and he did not know how long the monarch, who has cancer, would live.
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Drake Passage between Cape Horn and Antarctica at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said.
A ship with humanitarian aid and activists for Gaza was bombed by drones while in international waters off Malta early on Friday, its organisers said, and the Maltese government said after a rescue operation that everyone on board was safe.
A power outage hit several regions of Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Friday and efforts were underway to restore services to those affected, state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara said.
A Russian drone attack late on Thursday set buildings ablaze in Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring 29 people, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has approved a 2.35 per cent Education Cost Index (ECI) for Dubai's for-profit private schools for the 2025–26 academic year, allowing eligible schools to increase tuition fees within that limit.
A Dubai court has sentenced Indian businessman B.S.S., widely known as 'Abu Sabah', to five years in prison for his role in a large-scale money laundering operation.