Belarus government
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, 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

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

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...

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

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, greets International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel during their meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. (Nikolai Petrov/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
Latvia to host men's ice hockey worlds alone in May

Feb. 02, 2021 10:47 AM EST

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, speaks with International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel during their meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. (Nikolai Petrov/BelTA Pool Photo via AP)
IIHF pulls hockey worlds from Belarus, seeks new host

Jan. 18, 2021 11:45 AM EST

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

FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2016, file photo, Belarus guard Lindsey Harding (12) controls the rebound next to teammate Yelena Leuchanka, center, and Australia center Liz Cambage, rear, during the second half of a women's basketball game at the Youth Center at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It has been a difficult last few months for former Belarus star basketball player Leuchanka. She spent 15 days in jail in October after peacefully protesting against President Alexander Lukashenko's disputed re-election and then contracted the coronavirus earlier this month while she has been in Greece. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
Ex-WNBA player reflects on jail time after Belarus protest

By Doug Feinberg Nov. 24, 2020 03:03 AM EST

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