Free Republic

Polish border guards successfully repelled dozens of migrants as they attempted to violently break through from neighbouring Belarus in what may signal a return of the Lukashenko regime using illegals as a “hybrid warfare” vector against the West. On Sunday a group of around 60 mostly young male migrants, reportedly predominantly comprised of Iranian and Iraqi nationals, clashed with Polish border guards as they tried to push their way into the country from Belarus at the border region of Dubicz Cerkiewne. Footage posted by Poland’s Ministry of Defence showed migrants throwing stones and sticks at the border guards as they...

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will pay a state visit to China from February 28 to March 2, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Saturday.Cooperation with a focus on post-pandemic economic recovery and Russia-Ukraine conflict could be key topics during his visit, experts said.The lingering Russia-Ukraine military conflict will also be discussed as it has led to an increasingly tense relationship between the West and Russian as well as West and Belarus, Cui predicted, noting that, given the situation, practical cooperation with China means a lot to Belarus.

Mike Bloomberg is jumping into the Democratic presidential race because he believes that Joe Biden is fading, opening the moderate lane next to Elizabeth Warren, sources close to the former New York mayor tell Axios. Why it matters: "Mike will spend whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump," a Bloomberg source said. "The nation is about to see a very different campaign than we’ve ever seen before." I'm told there's no way he'll later run as a third-party or independent candidate, partly because of ballot-access hurdles. Theory of the case: Bloomberg, who according to Forbes is worth $52 billion, will...

MINSK -- A jailed senior state prosecutor who was investigating corruption among State Security Committee (KGB) officials has been sent to a KGB hospital for an examination, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. Svyatlana Baykova was arrested five months ago while investigating corruption among high-ranking KGB personnel. She has been held in pretrial detention in Minsk since March. Mikhail Vouchak, Baykova's lawyer, told journalists today that she was suffering from kidney failure and her condition is "critical." Baykova was on a hunger strike for several days in June. Vouchak said he hopes that after the medical examination Baykova will either be transferred...