Belarus : Thousands attend funeral of Belarusian protester

Thousands of people silently raised their arms in the air, held flowers aloft and broke into chants outside a church in Minsk on Friday at the funeral of a Belarusian protester. The death of 31-year-old Roman Bondarenko has become a flashpoint in months-long mass protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. Witnesses said Bondarenko was detained after a scuffle with people in plain clothes who came to a playground to remove red-and-white ribbons representing the protest movement. He died in hospital last week after what protesters say was a severe beating by security forces. The interior ministry denied responsibility. The death was…