- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
Belarus votes to give up non-nuclear status
Belarusians voted Monday to allow the country to host nuclear weapons and Russian forces permanently, results showed, part of a package of constitutional reforms that also extended the rule of leader Alexander Lukashenko.
The referendum was held Sunday as the ex-Soviet country's neighbour Ukraine is under attack from Russian troops and delegations from Moscow and Kyiv are expected to meet for talks on the Belarusian border.
Central Election Commission head Igor Karpenko said 65.16 percent of referendum participants voted in favour of the amendments and 10.07 percent voted against, Russian news agencies reported.
According to Karpenko, voter turnout stood at 78.63 percent.
To come into force, the amendments need to receive at least 50 percent of the vote with a turnout of over half the electorate.
Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, promised the referendum in the wake of historic protests against his disputed re-election in 2020.
By amending the constitution Lukashenko, 67, follows in the footsteps of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in 2020 oversaw a vote on constitutional changes that made it possible for him to remain in power until 2036.
The constitutional changes also grant immunity to former leaders for crimes committed during their term in office.
Russia is a key ally of Belarus and last week Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to use Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine from the north.
Belarus inherited a number of Soviet nuclear warheads following the break-up of the USSR in 1991, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative think tank, which it then transferred to Russia.
Lukashenko first floated possible changes after a presidential vote in August 2020 sparked unprecedented demonstrations that were met with a brutal crackdown.
He claimed a sixth term in the vote and imprisoned leading opposition figures, while his main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was forced to seek refuge in neighbouring Lithuania.
The amendments would reinstate presidential term limits -- previously ditched by Lukashenko -- to two five-year terms, but they would only apply to the next elected president.
Were Lukashenko to put himself forward as a candidate for re-election in 2025, he could remain in power for an additional ten years.
Tikhanovskaya's office in Lithuania has hit out at the vote, saying that a sweeping crackdown on any dissenting voices since the 2020 election made any real discussion of the proposals impossible.
O.Norris--AMWN