Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has threatened to confiscate more than 1,000 Lithuanian trucks stranded in Belarus following Lithuania’s recent border closures, said The Independent.
Vilnius shut two crossings with Belarus on 29 October, citing repeated airspace violations by weather balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes, which disrupted civilian flights. Lithuanian authorities say the incidents are part of broader hybrid operations by Belarus, a close ally of Russia, aimed at destabilising the region.
Lukashenko condemned the closures as a «mad scam» and a form of «hybrid war,» demanding the border be fully reopened to avoid the seizure of the vehicles. The escalation comes as European officials remain on alert over drone incursions into NATO airspace, with Lukashenko suggesting he may raise the issue directly with U.S. officials.
Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports that Uzbekistan’s Legislative Chamber approved an Islamic banking bill in its second and final readings, advancing a landmark framework to the Senate that would legalise Sharia-compliant finance and amend the Tax Code, Civil Code and eight other laws.
