Police in Belarus Detained 345 People at Protests on Sunday

Belarusian opposition supporters attend a rally to reject the presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus November 22, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer
Belarusian opposition supporters attend a rally to reject the presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus November 22, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer
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Police in Belarus Detained 345 People at Protests on Sunday

Belarusian opposition supporters attend a rally to reject the presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus November 22, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer
Belarusian opposition supporters attend a rally to reject the presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus November 22, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer

Police in Belarus detained 345 people at nationwide anti-government protests on Sunday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Thousands took to the streets of the Belarusian capital Minsk on Sunday, with police using stun grenades to disperse the crowd.

Opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko have staged regular protests since August, accusing him of rigging the election to extend his 26-year grip on power.

He denies electoral fraud and has refused to resign, Reuters reported.

Protest organizers this week asked people to gather in dozens of different spots all across Minsk before forming bigger groups, to make it more difficult for police to control the crowd.

The street rallies were re-ignited following the death of a 31-year old anti-government protester Roman Bondarenko, who died in hospital earlier this month following what demonstrators said was a severe beating by security forces.

The interior ministry denied responsibility for Bondarenko's death, saying he was killed in a scuffle with civilians.



Trump Says New Air Force One from Qatar Will Get ‘Maxed Out’ Upgrades

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before he boards Air Force One for his first flight aboard the Boeing 747-8 that Qatar gifted the United States to use for executive travel, at Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, July 1, 2026. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before he boards Air Force One for his first flight aboard the Boeing 747-8 that Qatar gifted the United States to use for executive travel, at Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, July 1, 2026. (AFP)
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Trump Says New Air Force One from Qatar Will Get ‘Maxed Out’ Upgrades

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before he boards Air Force One for his first flight aboard the Boeing 747-8 that Qatar gifted the United States to use for executive travel, at Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, July 1, 2026. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before he boards Air Force One for his first flight aboard the Boeing 747-8 that Qatar gifted the United States to use for executive travel, at Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland, July 1, 2026. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Qatari-donated jet that serves as an Air Force One plane will soon be sent away for upgrades, following questions about the plane's security features.

Trump started flying aboard the jumbo jet on July 1 after accepting the plane as a gift last year, when an accelerated effort to renovate the Boeing 747 for presidential use began.

But Trump unexpectedly ditched the plane on a flight from Türkiye to the United Kingdom amid rising hostility with Iran on July 8. He flew ‌aboard an older ‌Air Force One to London in what he ‌described ⁠as a move "for ⁠old time's sake", but later boarded the new plane to return to the US.

Trump was asked about whether the newly renovated airplane lacked missile-defense capabilities as he returned home from a trip to the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday.

"It has a lot of capability," Trump said of the plane. "But as ⁠I understand it, in about a month or ‌so, they're gonna send it to ‌have it be maxed out...It'll take about a month."

The Air Force ‌did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The new plane, ‌with red, white, dark blue and gold livery chosen by Trump, was refitted by defense contractor L3Harris Technologies.

It's meant to serve as a temporary replacement as Boeing has struggled to deliver long-delayed next-generation Air Force One planes. ‌Boeing is working to deliver two purpose-built 747-8s under a $3.9 billion fixed-price contract signed in 2018 that's ⁠now four ⁠years behind schedule and over budget. Delivery of the new planes is expected in mid-2028.