Brussels - The European Union's foreign ministers face tough talks on Monday when they meet in Luxembourg to debate whether or not to push for closer ties with Russia and Belarus.

Minsk  - An Indian student was knifed and hospitalized in serious condition in a provincial Belarusian town, sparking a rare university demonstration and class boycott, the Belapan news agency reported on Tuesday.

The racially-motivated attack by a reported gang of Slavic nationalists took place in the central city Gomel near the town's medical school.

The male victim, a medical student, was expected to recover fully, according to the report.

Minsk/Moscow - No opposition member won a seat in Belarus parliamentary elections, the country's election commission said Monday.

The opposition had expressed fears earlier that the polls would be fixed by the Belarusian leadership.

According to the Russian Itar-Tass news agency, 100 of 110 districts were counted. Turnout was at 75.3 per cent to vote for the 263 candidates competing for the 110 seats in the Belarus parliament.

Minsk/Moscow - Parliamentary elections in Belarus were passing off peacefully Sunday.

By midday, one-third of the country's 7 million eligible voters had cast their ballots, Elections Supervisor Lidiya Yermoshina was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying from the capital Minsk.

The opposition has expressed fears that the polls would be fixed by the Belarusian leadership.

Moscow/Minsk - Opposition parties in Belarus said Sunday they will boycott next week's parliamentary elections despite assurances from President Alexander Lukashenko they will be democratic.

The United Democratic Forces alliance justified the move by saying the government had refused to allow the opposition to sit on regional election commissions, thus depriving them of the chance to monitor the vote.

Lukashenko, criticized by human rights groups in his homeland as "Europe's last dictator," said Belarus had strictly adhered to the guidelines laid down by the West in preparing the elections.

Moscow/Minsk - Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko threatened Saturday to place relations with the West on ice if it declares next week's parliamentary elections undemocratic.

If there is no recognition of the elections "we will stop talking to them," the president told the news agency Interfax.

Lukashenko, criticized by human rights groups in his homeland as "Europe's last dictator," said Belarus had strictly adhered to the guidelines laid down by the West in preparing the elections.