Speculation Surrounds Belarusian Leader's Health After Missed Events.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko did not appear in public at a ceremony in Minsk, triggering speculation that the veteran leader is seriously ill. Lukashenko's office has declined to comment. According to the opposition news outlet Euroradio, Lukashenko was taken to an elite Minsk clinic on Saturday. Russian media rarely publish stories about the health of the leaders of Russia or its allied neighbours. Lukashenko, 68, has led Belarus since 1994, using police to put down protests, while courts closed dissident media outlets and imposed long jail terms on opponents, and activists fled the country en masse.