CHK_Westweighsactionafter Belarus diverts plane, arrests reporter

European Union considers upping sanctions as UK and US call for international probe over diversion of Ryanair flight.

Belarus’ forced diversion of a plane travelling within the European Union in order to arrest a prominent opposition journalist has widened a rift between Western powers and Minsk, prompting calls for further sanctions and an international probe over the incident. Minsk forced the Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, to land in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, on Sunday after it scrambled a fighter jet, allegedly in response to a bomb threat. On its landing, Belarusian authorities took journalist Roman Protasevich, who was on board, into custody.