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Lukashenko says critics ‘chose’ prison as Belarus holds election scorned by West

Published

13 hours ago

January 27, 2025

MINSK (Reuters) -Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Sunday that some of his political opponents had “chosen” to go to prison as he cast his vote in a election that was set to extend his 31-year rule.

As Belarusians voted, Lukashenko sparred with the world’s media at a press conference lasting more than four hours and 20 minutes.

Asked how the election could be free and fair, given that all the main opposition figures are in jail or have fled the country, the veteran leader replied: “Some chose prison, some chose ‘exile’, as you say. We didn’t kick anyone out of the country.”

He said no one was prevented from speaking out in Belarus, but prison was “for people who opened their mouths too wide, to put it bluntly, those who broke the law”.

The United States and the European Union have both described the election as a sham, given the repression of political opponents and the banning of independent media.

“This is a blatant affront to democracy,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on the eve of the vote.

Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told Reuters this week that Lukashenko was engineering his re-election as part of a “ritual for dictators”. Demonstrations against him took place on Sunday in Warsaw and other east European cities.

Lukashenko shrugged off the criticism as meaningless and said he didn’t care whether the West decided to recognise the election or not.

The EU and the US both said they did not acknowledge him as the legitimate leader of Belarus after he used his security forces to crush mass protests after the last election in 2020, when Western governments backed Tsikhanouskaya’s claim that he had falsified the results to cheat her of victory.

Tens of thousands of people were arrested. Human rights group Viasna, which is banned as an “extremist” organisation, says there are still some 1,250 political prisoners.

Lukashenko has freed more than 250 in the past year on what he called humanitarian grounds, but he denied this was meant as a signal to the West to try to repair relations.

“I don’t give a damn about the West,” he said, adding that Belarus was willing to talk to the EU but not to “bow before you or crawl on our knees”.

He said that leading dissident Maria Kalesnikava was guilty of “violating the regime” but that she was in sound health and that he had intervened personally to allow her a visit from her father last year. Other prominent prisoners include human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, serving a 10-year sentence on smuggling charges that he denies.

“In any state you have to take responsibility if you break the law. The law is severe, but it’s the law,” Lukashenko said.

PUTIN ALLY

Lukashenko, who took his small dog with him to a Minsk polling station, is standing against four other candidates, none of whom has mounted any serious challenge. But while there is no doubt about the outcome, he faces tricky choices in a new five-year term, which will be his seventh since 1994.

The war in Ukraine has bound him more tightly than ever to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Lukashenko offering his country as a launchpad for the 2022 invasion and later agreeing to let Moscow place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Lukashenko said he saw “light at the end of the tunnel” as Moscow and Kyiv prepare for possible peace talks in which he said they would have to thrash out a compromise.

Asked if this would be his last election, the 70-year-old ex-Soviet farm boss declined to give a direct answer. He said he was “not about to die”, and had no specific successor in mind.

“When the time comes, we will think about this,” he said.

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ROSEN, TOP RANKED GLOBAL COUNSEL, Encourages Five9, Inc. Investors to Secure Counsel Before Important February 3 Deadline in Securities Class Action – FIVN

Published

13 hours ago

January 27, 2025

New York, New York–(Newsfile Corp. – January 26, 2025) – WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities, including call options, of Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:) between June 4, 2024 and August 8, 2024, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), of the important February 3, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Five9 securities or call options during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Five9 class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=32046 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 3, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action (WA:) Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, during the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Five9’s net new business was not “strong irrespective of the macro” and was, in fact, hampered by macroeconomic issues such as constrained and scrutinized customer budgets; (2) Five9 was in the midst of a challenging bookings quarter due, in part, to sales execution and efficiency issues, and Five9 was not “seeing very strong bookings momentum”; and (3) defendants did not have “enough information in terms of [their] existing customers that are going live” such that the statements that Five9 would see a positive inflection in its dollar-based retention rate lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Five9 class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=32046 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook (NASDAQ:): https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/238378

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Head of disaster relief agency FEMA reassures staff after Trump criticism

Published

13 hours ago

January 27, 2025

(Reuters) – The acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote to staff reassuring them that the agency’s continued existence was vital to the country’s disaster response efforts, after President Donald Trump said he wanted to overhaul or scrap it.

“FEMA is a critical agency which performs an essential mission in support of our national security,” said Cam Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, who was appointed by Trump to temporarily lead the agency after the Republican president took office last week.

Hamilton sent the email to all staff on Friday night after earlier in the day Trump, during a visit to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, vowed to sign an executive order to overhaul or eliminate the main federal agency that responds to natural disasters.

“FEMA has turned out to be a disaster,” Trump said during a tour of a North Carolina neighborhood destroyed by September’s Hurricane Helene. “I think we recommend that FEMA go away.”

Trump accused FEMA of bungling emergency relief efforts there and said he preferred that states be given federal money to handle disasters themselves.

“President Trump has laid out his intent to reform FEMA, and we stand firmly at the ready to implement real and lasting reform,” Hamilton wrote in the email seen by Reuters. “We have some work to do at FEMA and restoring public confidence in this agency is essential.”

FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hamilton’s email.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Swannanoa resident Lucy Bickers, who received assistance from FEMA after Hurricane Helene damaged her property, holds a sign in support of the government agency as she waits on the route of visiting U.S. President Donald Trump's motorcade in Swannanoa, North Carolina, U.S., January 24, 2025/File Photo

FEMA brings in emergency personnel, supplies and equipment to help areas begin to recover from natural disasters. Funding for the agency has soared in recent years as extreme weather events have increased the demand for its services.

The agency has 10 regional offices and employs more than 20,000 people across the country.

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Colombia turns away two US military flights with deported migrants, official says

Published

13 hours ago

January 27, 2025

By Phil Stewart and Oliver Griffin

WASHINGTON/BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombia on Sunday turned away two U.S. military aircraft with migrants being deported as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, a U.S. official said, in at least the second case of a Latin American nation refusing U.S. military deportation flights.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the practice, suggesting it treated migrants like criminals. In a post on social media platform X, Petro said Colombia would welcome home deported migrants on civilian planes, saying they should be treated with dignity and respect.

Colombia’s decision follows one by Mexico, which also refused a request last week to let a U.S. military aircraft land with migrants.

“The U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals,” Petro wrote, noting that there were 15,660 Americans without proper immigration status in Colombia.

Petro’s comments add to the growing chorus of discontent in Latin America as Trump’s week-old administration starts mobilizing for mass deportations.

Brazil’s foreign ministry late on Saturday condemned “degrading treatment” of Brazilians after migrants were handcuffed on a commercial deportation flight. Upon arrival, some of the passengers also reported mistreatment during the flight, according to local news reports.

The plane, which was carrying 88 Brazilian passengers, 16 U.S. security agents, and eight crew members, had been originally scheduled to arrive in Belo Horizonte in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais.

There, Brazilian officials ordered the removal of the handcuffs, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva designated a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) flight to complete their journey, the government said in a statement Saturday.

The commercial charter flight was the second this year from the U.S. carrying undocumented migrants deported back to Brazil and the first since Trump’s inauguration, according to Brazil’s federal police.

Officials from the U.S. State Department, Pentagon, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The use of U.S. military aircraft to carry out deportation flights is part of the Pentagon’s response to Trump’s national emergency declaration on immigration on Monday.

In the past, U.S. military aircraft have been used to relocate individuals from one country to another, like during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.