Belarus Closes Office of Rossia Television

Authorities in Belarus have shut the office of the Russian state television channel Rossia after accusing it of exaggerating the size of a rally denouncing President Alexander Lukashenko. The Rossia report said several thousand demonstrators took part in Wednesday's protest to mark Lukashenko's 10th anniversary in office. Belarus' Interior Ministry said 193 people had attended, including 44 detained by police before the protest got under way. A Reuters reporter estimated that 4,000 people took part. Another Russian channel, NTV, was shut for a time last year after being accused of "slandering the government" in a report on the funeral of a writer opposed to Lukashenko. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said he hoped Rossia's office would soon reopen.