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West accuses Belarus of hijacking plane

Western countries have condemned Belarus for diverting a plane flying over its territory to arrest a Belarusian opposition journalist. EU leaders were due to discuss their response to what the union's executive called a "hijacking" and the US state department said was "a shocking act".

Belarus scrambled a fighter jet to force the plane - bound for Lithuania - to land, claiming a bomb threat. Police came and took Roman Protasevich away when passengers disembarked.

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The story

The Ryanair flight from Athens was approaching Lithuanian airspace when it suddenly changed direction. The airline says it was notified by Belarusian air traffic control of a potential security threat and told to divert to Minsk airport.

The defence ministry of Belarus even sent up a MiG-29 fighter jet to accompany the flight - and it says, to ensure it landed safely. But after an extensive search on board, nothing suspicious was found. Instead, Roman Protasevich, a well-known Belarusian opposition journalist, was arrested.

Key words and phrases

condemn
say publicly that something is morally wrong

• We must condemn acts of racism in order to stop it in the future.
• The government condemned the street violence.

outcry
strong expression of anger at an action

• There was an outcry after the school banned mobile phones.
• Following an outcry from fans, the writer changed the ending of her latest novel.

exiled
forced to live in another country for political reasons

• London in the 1800s was full of exiled political thinkers like Karl Marx.
• Living in exile can be a very lonely experience.

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