Belarus: Latest News

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19.02.2021 / 17:21

Belarus journalist on trial over report on protester's death

KYIV – A Belarussian court on Friday opened the trial of a journalist accused of revealing personal data in her report on the death of a protester, part of authorities' efforts to stifle protests against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.

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2 Belarusian journalists sent to prison for covering protest

KYIV – A court in Belarus on Thursday sent two female journalists to prison on charges of violating public order after they covered a protest against the nation's authoritarian president.

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Ex-presidential hopeful faces trial in Belarus

KYIV – Belarus's highest court on Wednesday opened a trial of a bank executive who had aspired to challenge the country's authoritarian president in last year's vote but was blocked from running due to criminal charges that he rejected as political.

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Belarus detains dozens of journalists, activists

KYIV – Belarusian authorities on Tuesday raided homes and offices of journalists and human rights activists and detained dozens in the latest move to squelch protests against the nation's authoritarian president.

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Belarusian Sabalenka advances to 4th round in Australia

MELBOURNE – Aryna Sabalenka matched her best Grand Slam showing by advancing to a possible fourth-round showdown against Serena Williams at the Australian Open.

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Belarusian leader vows to defeat foreign-backed 'rebellion'

KYIV – Belarus' authoritarian leader on Thursday denounced six months of protests against his rule as a foreign-directed “rebellion” and vowed to resist the pressure.

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In winter's quiet, Belarus opposition prepares new protests

KYIV – Winter's cold and harsh police actions in Belarus have put a chill on the protests against President Alexander Lukashenko that gripped the Eastern European nation for months. But opposition forces are preparing to turn up the heat in the spring and observers say Lukashenko doesn't have a clear strategy to overcome new unrest.

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EXPLAINER: How Nobel Peace Prize nominations come about

COPENHAGEN – Belarusian opposition figures, Hong Kong-pro-democracy activists, the global Black Lives Matter movement, a jailed Russian opposition leader and an American voting rights champion are among this year's nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Belarus police detain more than 160 protesters

KYIV – Police in Belarus on Sunday arrested more than 160 participants in demonstrations calling for the ex-Soviet nation's authoritarian president to resign.

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IIHF pulls hockey worlds from Belarus, seeks new host

ZURICH – The hockey world championships were pulled from Belarus on Monday following pressure from opposition groups and a threatened boycott by sponsors.The International Ice Hockey Federation cited safety concerns and said it will seek a new country to co-host the tournament with Latvia.Criticism of Belarus’ role as co-host grew after authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko's disputed re-election last year was followed by mass arrests at largely peaceful demonstrations.The IIHF said its council “determined that it is currently impossible to ensure the welfare of teams, spectators and officials” in Belarus.IIHF president Rene Fasel had tried to keep the tournament in Belarus, claiming it could build bridges between the opposition and

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Decision on Belarus hockey worlds near amid sponsor pressure

DÜSSELDORF – DÜThe International Ice Hockey Federation will make a decision in the coming days on whether to pull its world championship from Belarus as pressure increases from sponsors over a crackdown on opposition groups in the country. German motor oil manufacturer Liqui Moly said Sunday it would cancel its sponsorship deal if the championship remains in Belarus, a day after carmaker Skoda vowed to do the same after 28 years as a sponsor of the event.The Belarusian capital Minsk and Latvian capital Riga were picked in 2017 as co-hosts for the May 21-June 6 championship.

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Belarus leader defends hosting hockey worlds, ridicules US

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko defended his country’s ability to host this year’s hockey world championships on Monday by ridiculing the United States following the violent attack at the Capitol.The authoritarian leader met with International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel for talks amid calls to move the world championships following mass protests against Lukashenko’s rule.He told Fasel that the protests would not make it unsafe for Belarus to host the tournament, and compared his country with the United States, where supporters of President Donald Trump rioted at the Capitol last week.“In our country, protesters and other dissatisfied people don’t storm government agencies and capitols,” Lukashenko said.

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Prelate blocked for months by Belarus resigns Minsk post

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Sunday accepted the resignation of Minsk’ archbishop who had been blocked for months by Belarusian authorities from returning to his homeland after criticizing a crackdown on anti-government protesters there.Monsignor Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, in charge of the Minsk-Mohilev diocese, had only returned to Belarus on Dec. 24, just in time to celebrate Christmas Mass.

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Belarus starts COVID-19 vaccinations with Russian shots

MOSCOW – Belarus on Tuesday announced the start of mass coronavirus vaccinations with the Russian-developed Sputnik V shot, becoming the second country after Russia to roll out a vaccine that is still undergoing late-stage studies to ensure its safety and effectiveness. The first batch of Sputnik V arrived in the former Soviet republic on Tuesday, according to a joint statement by the Belarusian Health Ministry, the Russian Health Ministry and the Russian Direct Investment Fund that bankrolled development of the jab.

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COVID-19 vaccine: Belarus becomes first country after Russia to start Sputnik V vaccination

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The Latest: Oman starts vaccinations with 1st batch of shots

Unemployment benefits expire for millions as Trump rages— EU launches vaccine rollout, historic day in virus fight— Millions face new UK virus restrictions; border chaos eases— A wave of COVID-19 has engulfed prisons in Belarus that are packed with people in custody for demonstrating against the nation’s authoritarian president.— Health officials in Thailand say two new clusters of coronavirus cases have been found that appear to be linked to a major outbreak discovered a week earlier among migrant workers in an industrial province near Bangkok. — A Black doctor who died battling COVID-19 complained of racist medical care in widely shared social media posts.

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Virus besets Belarus prisons filled with president's critics

KYIV – A wave of COVID-19 has engulfed prisons in Belarus that are packed with people in custody for demonstrating against the nation’s authoritarian president, and some of the protesters who contracted the coronavirus while incarcerated accuse authorities of neglecting or even encouraging infections. Activists who spoke to The Associated Press after their release described massively overcrowded cells without proper ventilation or basic amenities and a lack of medical treatment.Kastus Lisetsky, 35, a musician who received a 15-day sentence for attending a protest, said he was hospitalized with a high fever after eight days at a prison in eastern Belarus and diagnosed with double-sided pneumonia induced by COVID-19.

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Belarus allows Roman Catholic archbishop to return

MOSCOW – Belarusian authorities have allowed a Roman Catholic priest to return to the country after denying him entry for months.Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk and Mohilev arrived in Belarus on Thursday. Kondrusiewicz was barred from entering the ex-Soviet nation for nearly four months after his criticism of the Belarusian authorities' crackdown on protests demanding the resignation of the country's authoritarian leader.Kondrusiewicz was denied entry on Aug.

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First 300,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine arrive in Argentina to fight Covid-19

Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Argentina on Thursday morning, following its approval by the government for emergency use.On a special flight of carrier Aerolineas Argentinas from Moscow, the vaccine arrived at Ezeiza international airport, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, according to Reuters witnesses and images shown on local television.Also Read | Inside the farmer disquiet at Delhi’s doorstepArgentine officials said they expect to start administering the vaccine in the days ahead. So far 42,314 people in the country have died of Covid-19, according to official data.On Wednesday Argentina became the third country to approve the Sputnik V vaccine, after Russia and Belarus.

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Sputnik V: Belarus registers Covid vaccine, in first outside Russia

Also Read | Inside the rumble in India’s coding jungleMeanwhile, Russia began vaccinating its cosmonauts and staff at Star City, the closed town near Moscow that is home to the country's space programme, the Roscosmos space corporation said.Cosmonauts Nikolai Chub and Oleg Artemyev, a former crew member of the International Space Station, had the first of the two Sputnik V vaccine jabs on Friday, it said.Olga Minina, head of the local clinic, said the cosmonauts had volunteered to take the vaccine, which is named after Soviet satellite that triggered the space race.

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EU adds dozens more Belarus officials to sanctions list

BRUSSELS – The European Union on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on Belarus, targeting dozens more officials over their role in the security crackdown launched after the contested presidential elections in August.The sanctions include a ban on travel in the 27-nation bloc and freezes the assets of those listed.

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Belarus opposition wins rights prize, urges EU to be braver

BRUSSELS – Former Belarus presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged the European Union to step up its support for embattled democracy protesters in her country, as she picked up the EU’s top human rights prize Wednesday on behalf of a group of opposition leaders.“Without a free Belarus, Europe is not fully free either. We ask Europe and the whole world to stand with Belarus,” Tsikhanouskaya told lawmakers in Brussels as she collected the Sakharov Prize on behalf of the Belarus opposition.Holding aloft photographs of Belarusians who have rallied against authoritarian Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, protesters who often been detained and beaten by security forces, she dedicated the award to them.

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Protesters in Belarus keep pushing for leader's resignation

KYIV – Crowds of people took to the streets Sunday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in a weekly protest against the country’s authoritarian leader who won a sixth term in office in a disputed election. Thousands were estimated to have taken part in small rallies scattered around more than 70 different areas of the capital — a new tactic used by the opposition instead of one large gathering — to make it harder for security forces to target the protesters.

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Over 300 detained in Belarus during protests against leader

KYIV – More than 300 people were detained in the Belarusian capital on Sunday, where crowds of people took to the streets for the 18th consecutive weekend, demanding the ouster of the country's authoritarian leader who won a sixth term in office in an election widely seen as rigged. Thousands of people Sunday took part in dozens of small rallies scattered all over Minsk, the Belarusian capital — a new tactic the opposition employed instead of one large gathering to make it harder for the security forces to target the protesters.

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UN rights chief laments worsening situation in Belarus

GENEVA – The United Nations' human rights chief lamented a deteriorating situation in Belarus and said Friday that reported beatings of protesters by security forces may in some cases amount to torture.Michelle Bachelet, the high commissioner for human rights, told the U.N. Human Rights Council there has been no improvement since a September debate about Belarus and “recent weeks have seen continued deterioration, particularly with respect to the right of peaceful assembly.”Belarus has seen mass protests triggered by President Alexander Lukashenko’s election to a sixth term in an Aug.

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Belarus: Leader says new constitution would put him from job

KYIV – The president of Belarus said Friday that he would not remain in the post he has held for more than 26 years if his country adopts a new constitution.However, President Alexander Lukashenko did not describe the amendments he is seeking or give a timeline for when a new constitution might be adopted.Lukashenko has repeatedly raised the prospect of a new constitution since the Aug. 9 presidential election in which he won a sixth term produced protests demanding his resignation.

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More than 140 detained by police in Belarus protests

KYIV – The Belarusian human rights group Viasna says that more than 140 people were arrested and many of them beaten by police during protests calling for the country’s authoritarian president to resign. The demonstrations that attracted thousands were the 16th consecutive Sunday of large protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.There have been near-daily protests since early August, but those on Sundays have been the largest.

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Global leaders warn 2020 is seeing ‘disturbing’ crackdowns on journalists

journalists in an increasingly hostile world.Irwin Cotler, the former Liberal justice minister and international human rights lawyer, made the recommendation in a report he authored for a coalition of independent international legal experts.The report was released Monday at an international conference on media freedom co-hosted by Canada and Botswana, and which saw the Belarusian Association of Journalists granted the inaugural Canada-U.K. Media Freedom Award for their work advocating the rights of journalists amid press crackdowns.U.K.

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More than 900 arrested in Belarus anti-government protests, according to human rights group

KYIV, Ukraine - A human rights group in Belarus said more than 900 people were arrested Sunday in protests around the country calling for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to step down.The demonstrations continued the wave of near-daily protests that have gripped Belarus since early August. In the capital Minsk, police wielded clubs and used tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of demonstrators.The Viasna human rights organization reported detentions at demonstrations in other cities, including Vitebsk and Gomel.

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500 reported arrested in Belarus protests

KYIV – A human rights group in Belarus said more than 500 people were arrested in protests around the country calling for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to step down. The Sunday demonstrations continued the wave of near-daily protests that have gripped Belarus since early August.

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Belarus nuclear plant stops power output soon after opening

KYIV – Belarus' first nuclear power plant stopped generating electricity the day after it was formally opened by President Alexander Lukashenko and some of its equipment needs to be replaced, a Belarusian official told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Lukashenko inaugurated the Russian-built and -financed Astravyets plant on Saturday.

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Club-wielding police in Belarus arrest nearly 400 protesters

KYIV – Club-swinging police went after demonstrators in Belarus' capital who were demanding the resignation of the country’s authoritarian president on Sunday, the 90th consecutive day of protests.Human rights activists said nearly 400 people were arrested.Thousands of demonstrators tried to enter the center of Minsk from several directions, but police cordoned off the area with armored vehicles and phalanxes of riot officers and prevented the protesters from assembling in a single place.The Belarusian Association of Journalists said at least nine journalists were detained. The human rights organization Viasna said at least 389 people were arrested in all, including well-known model Olga Khizhinkova, a former Miss Belarus.

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Belarus opens nuclear plant opposed by neighboring Lithuania

KYIV – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday formally opened the country’s first nuclear power plant, a project sharply criticized by neighboring Lithuania. Lukashenko said the launch of the Russian-built and -financed Astravyets plant “will serve as an impetus for attracting the most advanced technologies to the country, and innovative directions in science and education.” Lithuania has long opposed the plant, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of its capital, Vilnius.

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Disabled hold rally in Belarus to demand president step down

KYIV – About 200 disabled people rallied in Belarus' capital Thursday, continuing a nearly three-month wave of protests triggered by the disputed reelection of the country's authoritarian leader.More than 15,000 people have been arrested since the protests erupted after President Alexander Lukashenko's reelection to a sixth term in the Aug. 9 election, which was widely seen as rigged.

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Western nations decry Belarus crackdown at UN rights review

GENEVA – Western nations decried arbitrary arrests and other forms of repression in Belarus during a review of its record at the U.N.’s top human rights body on Monday, with the U.S. ambassador calling on authorities there to halt a “brutal crackdown.”The comments on Belarus came during a process known as the Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council, in which every country in the world has its rights record scrutinized every four or five years.

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Over 50,000 march in Belarus against authoritarian leader

KYIV – Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Belarus' capital on Sunday, demanding the ouster of the country's authoritarian leader who won his sixth term in office in an election widely seen as rigged. More than 50,000 people took part in the rally in Minsk, according to the Viasna human rights center.

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Second human trials of Russia's Sputnik V Covid vaccine start in UAE

Russian Covid-19 vaccine have begun in the United Arab Emirates, the Kremlin said on Monday in a statement while detailing a phone call between President Vladimir Putin and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, reported Reuters.The trials in the UAE are the second trials of the Sputnik V vaccine abroad, following the launch of trials in Belarus.

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Rights group: Scores detained during protests in Belarus

KYIV – Scores of people were detained in Belarus on Sunday during protests against the country’s authoritarian leader, who won his sixth term in office in a vote widely seen as rigged, a Belarusian rights group said. Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in the Belarusian capital Minsk for the 10th consecutive Sunday, demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has run the country with an iron fist for 26 years.

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Belarus' authoritarian leader visits his foes in prison

KYIV – Belarus' authoritarian president on Saturday visited a prison to talk to opposition activists, who have been jailed for challenging his re-election that was widely seen as manipulated and triggered two months of protests.President Alexander Lukashenko spent more than four hours talking to his jailed political foes at the Minsk prison that belongs to Belarus' State Security Committee, which still goes under its Soviet-era name, KGB.Lukashenko's office said that “the goal of the president was to hear everyone's opinion." Among 11 jailed activists who attended the meeting were several members of the opposition's Coordination Council and Viktor Babariko, the former head of a major Russia-owned bank.

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Foreign affairs minister to meet with Belarus opposition leader on trip to Europe

Francois-Philippe Champagne is putting his frequent flyer points where his mouth is.Champagne says he is determined to project Canada’s foreign policy as a defender of human rights while forging alliances with trusted, longtime allies. Friday’s announcement that he will undertake a four-country European tour — his second multi-country overseas trip in less than two months in the midst of a global pandemic — is intended to underscore that commitment.Champagne departs Sunday on a four-country trip that will take him to Greece, Austria, Belgium and Lithuania.

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Belarus' leader claims he saved opposition challenger's life

KYIV – Belarus' authoritarian president, whose re-election has triggered two months of protests, maintained Friday that he saved his main opponent's life by getting her out of the country — a claim rejected by her spokeswoman.Alexander Lukashenko asserted that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran against him in the Aug. 9 election, left of her own free will for Lithuania a day after the vote.

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Over 100,000 march in Belarus after authoritarian leader wins 6th term in office

FILE - Belarusian opposition supporters take part in a protest event demanding freedom for political prisoners. Mass protests against the presidential election results have been erupting in Minsk and other Belarusian cities since 9 August.

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Over 100,000 protest in Belarus for 9th straight Sunday

KYIV – More than 100,000 people marched in Belarus' capital for the ninth straight Sunday to protest against the country's authoritarian leader, who won his sixth term in office in an election widely seen as rigged. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, and freedom for political prisoners.

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EU leaders seek end to embarrassing Belarus sanctions clash

BRUSSELS – European Union leaders are gathering Thursday to try to end an embarrassing standoff that is preventing them from imposing sanctions on senior officials in Belarus accused of falsifying election results and leading the crackdown on peaceful protesters.The roadblock borders on the absurd. All 27 EU member countries reject the result of the Aug.

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Belarus activist shares ‘Alternative Nobel’ with 3 others

STOCKHOLM – A prominent Belarus opposition figure and an imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer on Thursday were awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Nobel,” together with activists from Nicaragua and the United States.Ole von Uexkull, the head of the Swedish Right Livelihood Foundation behind the prize, said that it “highlights the increasing threats to democracy globally.

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100,000 march in Belarus capital on 50th day of protests

KYIV – About 100,000 demonstrators marched in the Belarusian capital calling for the authoritarian president’s ouster, some wearing cardboard crowns to ridicule him, on Sunday as the protests that have rocked the country marked their 50th consecutive day.Protests also took place in nine other cities, underlining the wide extent of dismay and anger with President Alexander Lukashenko, who has stifled opposition and independent news media during 26 years in power.The protest wave began after the Aug. 9 presidential election that officials said gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office with a crushing 80% of the vote.

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Scores arrested in protest against Belarus' president

KYIV – Hundreds of women calling for the authoritarian president to step down protested in Belarus’ capital on Saturday, continuing the large demonstrations that have rocked the country since early August.Police blocked off the center of Minsk and arrested more than 60 demonstrators, according to the Viasna human rights organization. Some of those arrested were chased down by police in building courtyards where they were trying to take refuge, Viasna said.Protests, by far the largest and most persistent in Belarus since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, began Aug.

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EU says Belarus president's inauguration will deepen crisis

BRUSSELS – The European Union said Thursday that the swearing in of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to a sixth term during a secretive ceremony lacks democratic legitimacy, defies the will of the Belarusian people and will only deepen the country’s political crisis.EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell reiterated that the 27-nation bloc did not recognize the result of the Aug.

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United States	Cases: 46 252 513 Deaths: 750 423 Recovered: 0
India	Cases: 34 321 025 Deaths: 459 652 Recovered: 0
Brazil	Cases: 21 835 785 Deaths: 608 235 Recovered: 0
United Kingdom	Cases: 9 215 683 Deaths: 141 607 Recovered: 0
Russia	Cases: 8 494 589 Deaths: 237 619 Recovered: 0