Belarus

MINSK, August 19. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko urged the leadership of Western states, who are going to discuss the situation in Belarus, to focus on problems in their countries, he told the Security Council’s meeting attended by regional heads, BelTA reported.

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian presidential challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged European Union leaders on Wednesday not to recognise what she called fraudulent election results, saying longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko had lost all legitimacy.

Tsikhanouskaya was speaking from exile in neighbouring Lithuania before an emergency EU summit, due to be held by video conference, to discuss the crisis unfolding in Belarus, where the Aug.9 election sparked mass protests.

MINSK (Reuters) - Facing growing protests that have posed the biggest challenge to his 26 years in power, President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday he was ready to share power in Belarus, although not under pressure from the streets.

His apparent concession came after exiled opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she was willing to lead the country.

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Thousands of factory workers in Belarus took to the streets and hundreds of demonstrators besieged the state television headquarters Monday, raising the pressure on authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to step down after 26 years in office.

On the ninth straight day of protests against the official results of the Aug. 9 presidential vote handing him a sixth term, Lukashenko flew by helicopter to a factory in the capital in a bid to rally support but was heckled by workers chanting “Go away!”

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, speaking at a rally of his supporters in Minsk on Sunday, rejected calls to hold a new presidential election and accused NATO of massing on his country’s western border.

Belarus has been rocked by a week of street protests after protesters accused Lukashenko of rigging a presidential election last Sunday, something he denies.

MINSK (Reuters) - Russia said on Sunday it had told Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko it was ready to offer military assistance if necessary as demonstrators gathered for what was expected to be one of the biggest protests against Lukashenko’s re-election.

A least two protesters have been killed and thousands have been detained since last Sunday’s vote, which opponents of Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, say was rigged to disguise the fact that he has lost public support.

He denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80% of the vote.

MINSK, August 15. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said during a session in Minsk on Saturday that he plans to discuss the situation in the country with his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin, as the events in the republic can affect the Union State.

MINSK, August 14. /TASS/: Belarusian former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who finished second in the race, has announced that she is initiating creation of a coordination council to ensure transfer of power in the country.

"I, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, am initiating creation of the Coordination Council for transfer of power. This council can be joined by civic society members, respected and famous Belarusians and true professionals of their trades," she said in a statement issued by her campaign staff.

MINSK, August 12. /TASS/: Belarussian Anti-Monopoly Control and Trade Ministry has outlawed wholesale and retail trade in pyrotechnic products starting from August 12, the news agency BelTA said on Wednesday.

"In connection with a resolution adopted by the Council of Ministers we are asking trade outlets to take urgent measures to enforce strict compliance with the aforesaid resolution and to prevent wholesale and retail trade in pyrotechnic products in the territory of Belarus," the ministry’s news release runs.

MINSK, August 12. /TASS/: Mobile web access has been restored in Minsk after a three-day interruption, the quality of service on the whole has significantly improved, TASS correspondent reported on Wednesday.

Around 6:30 am (same time in Moscow), users in Minsk began to receive previously undelivered text messages. The majority of sites were accessible, including news outlets. Mobile applications became available as well.