Belarus

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanouskaya said on Tuesday she had fled abroad for the sake of her children, after two nights of clashes following the contested re-election of strongman President Alexander Lukashenko.

Tikhanouskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher, emerged from obscurity to mount the biggest challenge in years to Lukashenko, taking her husband’s place in the campaign after he was jailed.

MINSK, August 10. /TASS/: The number of people detained in Belarus on the presidential election day has grown to 213, according to the Vesna human rights center.

"As of 10 am on August 10, Vesna had information on at least 213 people detained in Belarus on August 9," the center said in a statement on Telegram, adding that the actual number of detained could be higher.

TASS has no official information from the country’s Interior Ministry at the moment.

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Election officials in Belarus say the country’s longtime authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has won his sixth consecutive presidential term, taking over 80% of the votes, according to preliminary results of Sunday’s election that resulted in mass protests all over Belarus and a violent crackdown on demonstrators.

The country’s central election commission announced on Monday that all the ballots have been counted and Lukashenko took 80.23% of the votes, while his main opposition challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had only 9.9%.

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Phalanxes of Belarusian police in full riot gear violently dispersed thousands of demonstrators who poured into the streets to challenge the early count from Sunday’s presidential election indicating the longtime authoritarian leader won a sixth term by a landslide.

Hundreds of people were detained, according to a leading rights group.

MINSK, August 9. /TASS/: Belarus won’t be drawn into chaos and civil war after the election, President Alexander Lukashenko said after casting his vote on Sunday.

"The situation should not be underestimated but there are absolutely no grounds to say that starting from tomorrow the country will be drawn into chaos or any struggle, confrontation or any civil war. I tell you this sincerely and guarantee," Lukashenko said.

Meanwhile, the country’s authorities are considering "various options," the president noted.

MINSK, August 8. /TASS/: Belarusian law enforcement officers detained several participants of a solidarity rally in central Minsk, the unregistered Vesna human rights center said on Saturday.

"Participants of traditional bicycle rallies of solidarity are being detained in Minsk," the statement says, adding that four people have been detained so far.

Belarusian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova did not comment on the report. However, she rejected information released via Telegram channels that a cycler was allegedly hit by a police car.

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — As Kseniya Milya’s grandfather lay dying of COVID-19 at a hospital in Belarus’ capital of Minsk, the country’s authoritarian leader was blithely dismissing the pandemic as “psychosis,” and recommending an unusual remedy: Have a regular shot of vodka and work hard in the fields.

MINSK, August 6. /TASS/: Individuals with US passports linked to the Department of State were detained in the run-up to the election in Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday.

MINSK (Reuters) - President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that Belarus had detained a number of people who possessed U.S. passports and were married to U.S. women ahead of its Aug. 9 presidential elections, the Belta news agency reported.

Lukashenko provided no further details of the detainees and it was not clear who he was referring to.

The U.S. embassy did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

MINSK, August 4. /TASS/: Russia will remain an ally for Belarus despite the fact that the brotherly relations between the two states now changed into a partnership, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday, addressing the Belarusian nation and parliament.