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European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen arriving at the summit

EU bans Belarusian flights from bloc's airspace

EU leaders have announced a ban on all Belarusian flights into EU airspace and a ban on the country's state carrier Belavia from landing at …

World • 25 May 21

Euronews move denounced by critics of Alexander Lukashenko

Belarus bans Euronews broadcasts

Belarusian authorities said they had banned European news network Euronews from broadcasting, in a move denounced by critics of President Alexander Lukashenko as a new …

World • 12 Apr 21

Police have detained thousands of demonstrators who have reported torture and abuse in custody

EU threatens new Belarus sanctions after protest death

The European Union has warned that it could impose further sanctions on targets in Belarus and condemned the death in police custody of an opposition …

World • 13 Nov 20

Britain has been calling for fresh elections in Belarus since President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election earlier this year

Britain expels Belarus diplomats in retaliatory move

Britain has expelled two Belarusian diplomats "in response to the unjustified expulsion" of two British diplomats by Belarus yesterday, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has …

World • 10 Nov 20

Senior police officials have threatened to use firearms against protesters if needed

Belarusians protest despite threats and warning shots

Riot police fired warning shots into the air, used stun grenades and made arrests to deter tens of thousands of Belarusians who marched through Minsk …

Europe • 01 Nov 20

Students take part in a rally in central Minsk

Belarus strikes start after Lukashenko ignores deadline

Factory workers chanted slogans, students took to the streets and police made detentions as Belarusians answered an opposition call for a national strike to force …

World • 26 Oct 20

Alexander Lukashenko (L) has been left off the EU's sanctions list

EU sanctions on Belarus draw strong Russian response

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will outline Ireland's concerns over the impact of Brexit on the second day of a summit of European Union leaders.

World • 02 Oct 20

A woman is detained during the protest in Minsk, Belarus yesterday

Macron calls for Belarus president Lukashenko to resign

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that Belarus's leader Alexander Lukashenko must step down, after the EU refused to recognise him as the legitimate president …

World • 27 Sep 20

Footage of the event has transfixed social media users, who have avidly shared the dramatic incident

Taxi driver becomes viral hero of Belarusian protests

A taxi driver in Belarus has become an unlikely hero of the protests against veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko after helping a man escape from riot …

News Lens • 24 Sep 20

Long-time ruler Alexander Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in the 9 August vote

EU refuses to recognise Lukashenko as Belarus president

The European Union refuses to recognise Alexander Lukashenko as president of Belarus, saying the August election results and his inauguration this week lacked democratic legitimacy, …

World • 24 Sep 20

Law enforcement officers detain a man during an opposition rally in Minsk

Thousands protest after Lukashenko hastily sworn in

Belarusian security forces have detained people and fired water cannon to disperse crowds as thousands took to the streets of Minsk in protest against the …

World • 23 Sep 20

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has urged the EU to step up its support for her movement

No EU sanctions on Belarus despite Tikhanovskaya plea

EU foreign ministers have failed to agree sanctions over the political crisis in Belarus, despite a plea for support from opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

World • 21 Sep 20

People march during a demonstration called by opposition movement for an end to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko

Tens of thousands protest in Belarus capital

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters have marched in the Belarusian capital of Minsk despite authorities deploying a heavy police presence.

World • 20 Sep 20

Alexander Lukashenko claimed a sixth term in disputed presidential elections last month

Belarus strips status of former diplomats over protests

The Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko, has stripped the credentials of two former diplomats who supported opposition protests and fired his "inadequate" ambassador to Latvia, state-run …

World • 17 Sep 20

Alexander Lukashenko met Vladimir Putin in the Russian resort of Sochi

Putin backs Belarus leader Lukashenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed the embattled Belarus leader and promised €1.26bn loan as Alexander Lukashenko vowed to strengthen ties with Moscow.

World • 14 Sep 20

An elderly woman is arrested by police as thousands of people take to the streets of Minsk

Arrests as tens of thousands protest in Belarus capital

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of the Belarusian capital for a new march as police said they had detained some …

World • 13 Sep 20

Activists being detained during a rally at St Simon and St Helena Church in Independence Square, Minsk

Call for UN Belarus debate as protesters held at church

The European Union is requesting an urgent debate on Belarus at the UN Human Rights Council as further anti-government protests saw people being detained during …

Belarus • 11 Sep 20

Maxim Znak, a lawyer and a member of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition

Belarus 'terror' denounced as another activist detained

Nobel prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich accused the authorities in Belarus of terrorising their own people today as another opposition politician was detained by masked men …

World • 09 Sep 20

Maria Kolesnikova was detained at the border between Ukraine and Belarus

Belarus opposition figure detained at Ukraine border

Prominent opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova was detained by Belarusian authorities, a border official said, after thwarting what a Ukrainian government minister described as an attempt …

World • 08 Sep 20

Belarusian opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova at a protest rally in Minsk yesterday

Masked men detain Belarus protest leader - opposition

Masked men detained Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova in central Minsk this morning and drove her away in a van and two of her allies …

World • 07 Sep 20

A woman lies down in front of police in Minsk, Belarus, holding a sign that says 'I am not afraid'

Crowd chants 'happy birthday, you rat' at Lukashenko

Belarusians chanting "Happy Birthday, you rat" and flying red-and-white opposition flags gathered near President Alexander Lukashenko's residence today as protesters kept up pressure on the …

World • 30 Aug 20

Demonstrators make chains with flowers in reaction to intervention of police in previous demonstrations in Minsk

Women become a symbol of change in Belarus

The 'Women in White' are peaceful demonstrators who hold flowers and dress in red and white while demanding political change in Belarus. Women have become …

World • 30 Aug 20

Demonstrators confront police in the Belarusian capital Minsk today as protests continue following election result

Belarus in crackdown on journalists' right to work

Belarusian authorities have withdrawn the accreditation of several foreign media journalists, including AFP, ahead of the latest demonstration challenging the results of the presidential election.

Belarus • 29 Aug 20

Vladimir Putin has promised military backing for Belarus and said Russia had set up a reserve group of law enforcement officers to deploy if the post-vote situation deteriorated

Putin vows military support for Belarus' Lukashenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed military support for Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, while urging a peaceful resolution to unrest and demonstrations that erupted after …

World • 27 Aug 20

Exiled Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya spoke via video link from Lithuania with the European Parliament today

Belarusian Supreme Court rejects appeal over election

The Belarusian Supreme Court has rejected an appeal lodged by opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to annul the results of the disputed presidential election held earlier …

World • 25 Aug 20