Is he defecting?
The week's news at a glance.
Minsk, Belarus
The Belarusian ambassador to Japan, whose term ended two weeks ago, refuses to return to Belarus. Pyotr Krauchanka was Belarus’ foreign minister in the early 1990s, but clashed with authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka over the disbanding of the legislature. Still, he got an ambassadorial appointment and served in Japan for the full four-year term. The day he was supposed to hand in his official papers, though, he simply didn’t show up at the embassy. Former colleagues were envious. “One hundred percent of the Foreign Ministry personnel dream of going as far away from Minsk as possible,” former deputy foreign minister Andrei Sannikau told Radio Free Europe. “It is impossible to work for an agency that operates as a propaganda rather than a diplomatic office.” Belarus is an extremely poor country run by a Soviet-style dictator.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published