Britain joined a European Union move to recall ambassadors from Belarus today in response to what Foreign Secretary Willian Hague said was continued repression there.

LEADING trainer Dessie Hughes has hailed the “sensible” decision of the Government to limit the reduction of the horse and greyhound racing fund to 1.7%.

ASTON VILLA caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald hailed the impact of his young guns on a night when they kept their Europa League hopes alive.

REAL MADRID secured their progression and kept alive their outside hopes of winning Group H after Raul’s early strike earned them a 1-0 victory over BATE Borisov.

Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, today said it will reduce natural gas supplies to Belarus by 45% as of August 3 after Minsk failed to pay for previous gas shipments.

Russian President Vladimir Putin today hailed the agreement that ended a bitter oil spat with neighbouring Belarus, saying that it meant a reduction of Moscow subsidies for the ex-Soviet ally.

Russian oil began flowing again through a Belarusian pipeline, signalling an end to a dispute that caused relations between Minsk and Moscow to plummet and sent ripples of doubt across Europe.

Belarus has blocked the transit of Russian oil through its territory to European countries including Germany and Poland, news reports said today, raising the stakes in a bitter energy dispute between Russia and the neighbouring former Soviet nation.