Minsk
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

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

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

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...

International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel reacts while speaking with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during their talks in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. (Nikolai Petrov/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
Decision on Belarus hockey worlds near amid sponsor pressure

By James Ellingworth Jan. 17, 2021 10:26 AM EST

In this handout photo, Belarusian riot police officers stand next to detained after an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results demonstrators inside a police station in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. More than 30,000 people have been detained for taking part in protests against the re-election of Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in the Aug. 9 presidential vote that was widely seen as rigged with fraud. The protests, some of which attracted up to 200,000 people, now have entered their fifth month. (Handout photo via AP)
Virus besets Belarus prisons filled with president's critics

Dec. 26, 2020 03:32 AM EST

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting on the work of the economy in the current year in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
Hockey officials positive for virus, cancel trip to Belarus

By Graham Dunbar Dec. 08, 2020 07:15 AM EST

List 2/4 of sports events affected by coronavirus pandemic

By The Associated Press Nov. 09, 2020 04:30 PM EST
CANOE-KAYAK African Olympic canoe slalom qualifier in Basel, Switzerland from March 14-15 canceled. Pan American canoe...

People help a woman after she collided with a police during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Nearly three months after Belarus' authoritarian president's re-election to a sixth term in a vote widely seen as rigged, the continuing rallies have cast an unprecedented challenge to his 26-year rule. (AP Photo)
Thousands protest in Belarus amid continued crackdown

Nov. 01, 2020 12:40 PM EST

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020 file photo, Belarusian police block a street during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has relied on massive arrests and intimidation tactics to hold on to power despite nearly three months of protests sparked by his re-election to a sixth term, but continuing protests have cast an unprecedented challenge to his 26-year rule. (AP Photo, File)
Nearly 3 months after vote, Belarus protests still go strong

Oct. 31, 2020 04:15 AM EDT

People, most of them pensioners, carry a big old Belarusian national flag during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. Factory workers, students and business owners in Belarus have started a general strike, calling for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to resign after more than two months of mass protests triggered by a disputed election. (AP Photo)
Belarus shuts its borders, Lukashenko reshuffles officials

Oct. 29, 2020 02:24 PM EDT

List 2/4 of sports events affected by coronavirus pandemic

By The Associated Press Oct. 12, 2020 05:20 PM EDT
CANOE-KAYAK African Olympic canoe slalom qualifier in Basel, Switzerland from March 14-15 canceled. Pan American canoe...

Police use a water cannon toward demonstrators during a rally in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have been protesting daily since the Aug. 9 presidential election. (AP Photo)
Belarus' authoritarian leader visits his foes in prison

Oct. 10, 2020 01:53 PM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2020, file photo, demonstrators face a roadblock manned by riot police during a protest in Minsk, Belarus. With protests in Belarus now in their third week — including rallies that brought out an estimated 200,000 people in Minsk for the last two Sundays — President Alexander Lukashenko is moving to squelch the demonstrations gradually with vague promises of reforms mixed with threats, court summonses and the selective jailing of leading activists. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
In a shift, Belarus leader seeks to stem protests gradually

By Yuras Karmanau Aug. 26, 2020 06:04 AM EDT

People watch as Belarusian opposition supporters rally in the center of Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Opposition supporters whose protests have convulsed the country for a week aim to hold a major march in the capital of Belarus. Protests began late on Aug. 9 at the closing of presidential elections. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Leader of Belarus rejects calls to rerun presidential vote

By Yuras Karmanau Aug. 16, 2020 10:24 AM EDT

A couple hugs after being released from a detention center where protesters were detained during a mass rally following presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. Nearly 7,000 people have been detained and hundreds injured in the clampdown on demonstrators protesting the official results that said Lukashenko won 80% of the vote and his top opposition challenger got only 10%. Police have broken up protests with stun grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets and severe beatings. (AP Photo)
Thousands flood Belarus capital as election protests grow

By Yuras Karmanau Aug. 14, 2020 05:23 AM EDT

A police officer keeps guard as people gather during a rally against the results of the country's presidential election outside the Belarusian Automobile Plant (BelAZ) in Zhodino, about 50 km (31 miles) north-east of Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. Hundreds of people were back on the streets of Belarus' capital on Thursday morning, forming long "lines of solidarity" in protest against an election they say was rigged to extend the rule of the country's authoritarian leader and against a crackdown on rallies that followed the vote. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Thousands in Belarus form 'lines of solidarity' in protest

By Yuras Karmanau Aug. 13, 2020 04:31 AM EDT

CORRECTING COUNTRY IN CAPTION TO BELARUS - People with old Belarusian National flag gather in a street protesting the election results in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. The demonstrators are contesting the official count showing President Alexander Lukashenko winning a sixth term with 80% of Sunday's vote, with crowds taking to the streets every night since to demand a recount. (AP Photo)
Thousands in Belarus decry president's reelection as rigged

By Yuras Karmanau Aug. 12, 2020 11:44 AM EDT

People help a wounded demonstrator during a mass protest following presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. Thousands of people have protested in Belarus for a second night after official results from weekend elections gave an overwhelming victory to authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, extending his 26-year rule. A heavy police contingent blocked central squares and avenues, moving quickly to disperse protesters and detained dozens. (AP Photo)
Protests in Belarus continue despite challenger's departure

By Yuras Karmanau Aug. 11, 2020 12:59 PM EDT