Latest Belarus News
Poland, Lithuania fear new migrant crisis due to Belarus' offer of visa-free travel
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus is introducing a visa-free travel arrangement with dozens of countries for a month, raising fears that neighboring Poland and Lithuania might see a sudden increase in unauthorized migration. The authoritarian president of Belarus, Alexander...
French Open lets Belarus' Sabalenka skip standard news conference after questions about Ukraine war
PARIS (AP) — Two years after Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open when she was fined, then threatened with disqualification, for skipping news conferences, another top tennis player — No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion — was allowed to avoid the traditional...
At French Open, Sabalenka of Belarus refuses to answer questions about war in Ukraine
PARIS (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka, a Belarusian tennis player seeded No. 2 at the French Open, declined to answer questions about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after she won a match on Wednesday. After her first-round win Sunday, Sabalenka had said no Russian or Belarusian athletes...
Olympic sports leaders meet amid uncertainty over Russians competing at 2024 Paris Games
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Complex questions about if — and how — Russian athletes could return to their competitions ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics looked far from being resolved when sports governing bodies met Wednesday. Different sports have varying sporting, political...
Belarus has no immediate plans to adopt Russian currency, its strongman leader Lukashenko says
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus and Russia have no plans to adopt a joint currency in the near future, Belarus’ strongman leader announced on Monday. Speaking at a meeting with the head of Russia’s central bank, Alexander Lukashenko said that introducing the Russian ruble in...
Poland imposes sanctions on 365 Belarusians over 'draconian' verdict against journalist
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland imposed sanctions Monday on 365 Belarusian citizens and froze the financial assets of 20 entities and 16 other people associated with Russian capital in reaction to what it condemned as a “draconian” verdict against a journalist. Under the...
Migrants with children stuck at Poland's border wall; activists say Belarus won't let them turn back
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A group of some 30 migrants seeking asylum, including small children, has been stuck at Poland's border wall with Belarus for three days, Polish human rights activists said Sunday. Although the migrants were outside Poland's border wall, activists from Grupa...
Ukraine's Kostyuk booed at French Open after no handshake with Belarus' Sabalenka because of war
PARIS (AP) — Unable to sleep the night before her first-round match at the French Open against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the Grand Slam tournament's No. 2 seed, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine checked her phone at 5 a.m. Sunday and saw disturbing news back home in Kyiv. At least one...
Belarus upholds 8-year prison sentence for journalist of top Polish newspaper
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus' Supreme Court on Friday upheld an eight-year prison sentence handed to a prominent member of the country’s sizable Polish minority and a correspondent for a top newspaper in Poland. The decision is seen part of the government's sweeping, year's...
Russia signs deal to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russia and Belarus signed a deal Thursday formalizing the deployment of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally, although control of the weapons remains in the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the deployment of the...
