Alexander Lukashenko
FILE - Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, July 30, 2021. The Belarusian track coach who tried to force the sprinter out of the Tokyo Olympics and back to Belarus after she was critical of the team has been charged with breaching the sport's integrity standards. The Athletics Integrity Unit announced the charges against Yury Maisevich on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Belarus coach who removed sprinter from Olympics charged

By Eddie Pells Jan. 19, 2023 11:45 AM EST

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. (Nikolay Petrov/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
Belarus hockey official banned 5 years for political abuse

By Graham Dunbar Sep. 08, 2021 09:02 AM EDT

Poland gives humanitarian visa to 2nd Belarus athlete

Sep. 05, 2021 11:40 AM EDT
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A lawmaker in Poland says a second Belarussian athlete, an equestrian who was excluded from the country's Olympic team after criticizing...

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, left, and her husband Arseni Zdanevich speak to The Associated Press in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday Aug. 11, 2021. The runner, who has found refuge to rebuild her life in Poland, described the feeling of safety when police took her away from her national team officials. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Belarus sprinter feels safe, looks to future in Poland

By Vanessa Gera Aug. 11, 2021 04:04 PM EDT

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who arrived in Poland on Wednesday fearing reprisals at home after criticizing her coaches at the Tokyo Games, holds up an Olympic-related T-shirt with the slogan "I Just Want to Run" after her news conference in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. Tsimanouskaya reached Poland by plane from Tokyo through Vienna, a circuitous route due to security concerns, days after she accused team officials of trying to force her to fly back to Belarus, where an authoritarian government has relentlessly pursued its critics. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
2 coaches removed from Tokyo Olympics in Belarus case

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 05, 2021 10:17 PM EDT

Belarusian dissident in Poland, Pavel Latushka, left, and Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, right, who came to Poland fearing reprisals at home after criticizing her coaches at the Tokyo Games, talk to journalists in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Belarus runner used quick thinking to avoid being sent home

By Monika Scislowska And Daria Litvinova Aug. 05, 2021 06:35 AM EDT

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, center, prepares to leave Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. Tsimanouskaya, who plans to seek refuge in Europe, boarded a plane that left the gate for Vienna on Wednesday morning, though it was not immediately clear if that would be her final destination. (Kyodo News via AP)
Belarus Olympic runner who feared going home lands in Poland

By Vladimir Isachenkov And David Keyton Aug. 04, 2021 04:54 AM EDT

FILE In this file photo taken from video, Belarus Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya speaks during a zoom interview with the Associated Press in Japan, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. A feud between Tsimanouskaya and team officials that prompted her to seek refuge in Poland has again cast a spotlight on the repressive environment in the ex-Soviet nation, where authorities have unleashed a relentless crackdown on dissent. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin, File)
EXPLAINER: What happens when Olympics and politics collide?

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 04, 2021 04:11 AM EDT

FILE In this file pool photo taken on Saturday, April 4, 2020, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko takes part in a hockey match during Republican amateur competitions in Minsk, Belarus. A feud between Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya and team officials that prompted her to seek refuge in Poland has again cast a spotlight on the repressive environment in the ex-Soviet nation, where authorities have unleashed a relentless crackdown on dissent. (Andrei Pokumeiko/BelTA Pool Photo via AP, File)
EXPLAINER: What is behind Belarus athlete's Olympics crisis?

By Yuras Karmanau And Vladimir Isachenkov Aug. 04, 2021 03:47 AM EDT

In this image made from video provided by NTV, Belarus Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya enters the Polish embassy in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. Tsimanouskaya plans to seek asylum in Poland, an activist group said Monday, after the athlete alleged that her team’s officials tried to force her to fly home, where she feared she wouldn’t be safe from an autocratic government that recently was accused of diverting a plane in order to arrest a dissident journalist. (NTV via AP)
Belarus sprinter says punishment awaited her back home

By Daniel Kozin And Daria Litvinova Aug. 03, 2021 05:10 AM EDT

In this image made from video provided by NTV, Belarus Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya enters the Polish embassy in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. Tsimanouskaya plans to seek asylum in Poland, an activist group said Monday, after the athlete alleged that her team’s officials tried to force her to fly home, where she feared she wouldn’t be safe from an autocratic government that recently was accused of diverting a plane in order to arrest a dissident journalist. (NTV via AP)
Poland grants visa to Belarus Olympian who fears for safety

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 02, 2021 05:08 AM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Japan: Belarus runner involved in airport standoff is safe

By Graham Dunbar And Daniel Kozin Aug. 01, 2021 12:00 PM EDT

Anton Borodachev of the Russian Olympic Committee, left, and Erwann Le Pechoux of France compete in the men's Foil team final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Chiba, Japan. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Olympics Latest: Belarus runner says team forcing departure

Jul. 31, 2021 09:18 PM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Idaho

By The Associated Press Jun. 18, 2021 12:38 PM EDT
Recent editorials from Idaho newspapers: Cheers & Jeers: Irony is dead June 18 The Lewiston...

FILE - In this Thursday, March 16, 2017 file photo, the logo of German Lufthansa airline is attached at a gate during the company's annual press conference in Munich, Germany. German officials say Germany has denied Russian airlines permission to use its airspace after Moscow failed to approve a Lufthansa flight to Russia. In a statement, Germany’s Transport Ministry said the decision was based on the practice of reciprocal approval of flights, and affected connections operated by Aeroflot and budget carrier S7. The tit-for-tat decision on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 comes amid mounting tension between Russia and the European Union over Moscow’s support for Belarus. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, file)
In tit-for-tat move, Germany blocks Russian airlines

Jun. 02, 2021 01:29 PM EDT

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, former presidential candidate and main figurehead of the Belarus opposition, center, Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte, right, and caretaker Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag, left, pose for a picture at the start of their meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, May 28, 2021. (Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool via AP)
Belarus' leader seeks Russia's support amid showdown with EU

By Vladimir Isachenkov May. 28, 2021 06:47 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: U.S.

By The Associated Press May. 26, 2021 02:31 PM EDT
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: May 24 The Guardian on a line being crossed in Belarus...

FILE - In this March 10, 2011, file photo, then Vice President Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia. President Joe Biden will hold a summit with Vladimir Putin next month in Geneva, a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders that comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the first months of the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Face to face: June summit for Biden, Putin as tensions rise

By Aamer Madhani, Jonathan Lemire And Jamey Keaten May. 25, 2021 10:25 AM EDT

A man holds a poster reads "Freedom for Navalny" during a protest in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. Police across Russia have arrested more than 180 people in connection with demonstrations in support of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to a human rights group. Navalny's team called the unsanctioned demonstrations for Wednesday after reports that his health is deteriorating while on hunger strike, which he began March 31. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Putin vows a 'quick and tough' Russian response for its foes

By Vladimir Isachenkov Apr. 21, 2021 05:35 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russia's Putin hosts Belarusian president for talks in Sochi

Feb. 22, 2021 10:29 AM EST