700 jailed in Belarus

MINSK: More than 700 people were jailed following latest anti-government protests in Belarus, the interior ministry said on Monday, as anger mounted over the recent death of a protester.

Thousands took to the streets of the Belarusian capital Minsk on Sunday, the latest of three months of demonstrations against the re-election of strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko in August.

Opponents of 66-year-old Lukashenko, who has been in power for more than two decades, say the election was rigged and insist political novice Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was the true winner of the polls.

The Belarusian interior ministry said on Monday that more than 700 people were taken into pre-trial detention for "breaching the laws on mass gatherings". The human rights group Viasna for its part reported that at least 1,200 people were detained on Sunday.