Belarus

MONACO (AP) — An investigation into two Belarus team officials who tried to force sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya on a flight from the Tokyo Olympics will now be run by track and field authorities.

World Athletics said on Thursday its independent Athletics Integrity Unit is taking over the case from the International Olympic Committee. No timetable was given for the investigation.

The Belarus team’s treatment of Tsimanouskaya created a diplomatic incident at the Tokyo Olympics with Japanese authorities and Poland’s embassy coming to her aid.

MINSK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called on Tuesday for changes to the constitution that would prevent an opposition movement that rose up against him in mass street protests last year from taking power, the state news agency Belta reported.

President since 1994, Lukashenko has touted constitutional reform as a way out of the political crisis following a disputed election in August 2020. But his opponents have denounced such change as a sham exercise to keep the veteran leader in office.

MINSK, September 12. /TASS/: Belarus is planning to purchase more than $1 billion worth of weapons from Russia, potential supplies of S-400 missile systems to the country are being discussed, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters on Sunday, BelTA news agency reports.

"The western direction of Belarus is now fully covered by S-300 missile systems. But we now have the southern direction," SB. Belarus Segodnya newspaper quotes Lukashenko as saying.

Aug 16 (Reuters) - A Belarusian man who tried to cut his own throat during a court hearing in June was sentenced to 8-1/2 years in prison after his trial resumed on Monday, the human rights group Viasna-96 and Belarusian media reported.

Stepan Latypov, 41, was arrested last September during an intensifying crackdown on protests by security forces loyal to President Alexander Lukashenko after a contested election.

MINSK, August 11. /TASS/: The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has proposed that the United States should cut the staff numbers at its embassy in Minsk to five people, Belarusian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Anatoly Glaz said in a statement on Wednesday.

MINSK, August 9. /TASS/: Minsk is not opposed to integration with Russia within the Union State but this move must not imply any loss of the republic’s statehood and sovereignty, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday.

"When we speak about integration, we must clearly understand that this means integration without any loss of statehood and sovereignty," the Belarusian leader said at a meeting with reporters and public figures.

MINSK, August 5. /TASS/: About 12,800 troops will participate in the Zapad-2021 strategic drills in Belarus, including 2,500 personnel from Russia and 50 servicemen from Kazakhstan, Chief of the Belarusian General Staff, First Deputy Defense Minister Viktor Gulevich said on Thursday.

Aug 4 (Reuters) - Maria Kolesnikova, one of the leaders of mass street protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last year, went on trial on Wednesday facing up to 12 years in prison on charges of extremism.

Kolesnikova, 39, has not been seen in public for months. She was detained after ripping up her passport to prevent Belarusian security forces from deporting her in a standoff at the Ukrainian border in September.

MINSK, July 31. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia have discussed the situation in Belarus and Russia and interfaith relations in a telephone conversation, the Belarusian leader’s press service said on Saturday.

"The focus was on the situation in Belarus and Russia, while an emphasis during the conversation was placed on issues of interfaith relations. And, of course, the interlocutors discussed the state of affairs in the Church as a whole," the report said.

MINSK, July 30. /TASS/: Certain circles in the West are mulling the use of force as a way to change the government in Belarus, the BelTA news agency reported on Friday, citing Chairman of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) Ivan Tertel.