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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 police.

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, the EU's diplomatic chief has said.

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 abrupt inauguration of President Alexander Lukashenko.

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 news agency Belta has reported.

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 250 people.

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 a rally at a church in the capital Minsk.

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 in plain clothes.

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 to expel her from Belarus.

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 also disappeared later, the opposition movement has said.

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 veteran leader to resign.

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 a symbol of the opposition movement - not only on the streets but in the higher echelons of power.

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 a disputed election.

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 this month, the TASS news agency has reported.

World • 25 Aug 20

Waving red-and-white opposition flags, protesters demanded Mr Lukashenko's resignation and chanted 'freedom'

Tens of thousands protest against Lukashenko in Belarus

Tens of thousands of Belarusians joined an anti-government demonstration in central Minsk to protest President Alexander Lukashenko's claim to a sixth term in disputed elections.

World • 23 Aug 20

Several thousand protesters gathered at Independence Square in central Minsk

Lukashenko accuses opposition of trying to seize power

The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has accused the opposition of attempting to seize power in the wake of mass protests against disputed presidential elections.

World • 18 Aug 20

An opposition supporter waves an old Belarusian national flag from a car window in Minsk

Trump says US closely watching Belarus situation

The US President, Donald Trump, has said the United States will be closely watching the "terrible" situation in Belarus, where a political crisis erupted after a presidential election on 9 August that protesters say was rigged.

World • 17 Aug 20

Tens of thousands of protesters gather for a rally at the Minsk Hero City Obelisk today

Tens of thousands rally in Minsk, leader vows to stay

Tens of thousands of Belarusians rallied in Minsk today in the biggest demonstration yet against a disputed election, as President Alexander Lukashenko rejected calls to step down in a defiant speech.

World • 16 Aug 20

People gathered near Pushkinskaya metro station in the capital Minsk today

Putin offers to help ensure security - Belarus leader

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has said that Russia's Vladimir Putin has offered to help ensure the country's security, as opposition protesters keep up the pressure on the veteran leader over his claim to have won re-election.

World • 15 Aug 20

The EU has decried violence against protesters in Belarus

EU takes first step to impose new sanctions on Belarus

The EU has taken the first step to impose new sanctions on Belarus over a disputed election last Sunday and a crackdown on protests that followed, instructing its foreign policy arm to prepare a blacklist of responsible individuals.

World • 14 Aug 20

Belarus police block a street during a protest in the capital Minsk

700 more people detained during Belarus protests

Thousands of protesters formed human chains and marched in Belarus in a growing wave of peaceful demonstrations over President Alexander Lukashenko's disputed re-election.

World • 13 Aug 20

Women dressed in white as they formed a human chain today during protests in Minsk, Belarus

Belarus protester dies as UN condemns violent crackdown

Belarus confirmed the death of a jailed protester after police violently cracked down on demonstrations over disputed presidential polls.

World • 12 Aug 20