Latest Minsk News
US, EU and allies hit Belarus with coordinated sanctions
BRUSSELS (AP) — The United States, European Union, Britain and Canada slapped simultaneous sanctions Thursday on dozens of officials, organizations and companies in Belarus, with the EU taking aim at those accused of participating in a “hybrid attack” on the bloc using migrants. ...
Putin demands NATO guarantees not to expand eastward
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow would seek Western guarantees precluding any further NATO expansion and deployment of its weapons near his country's borders, a stern demand that comes amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. ...
Belarus targets journalists, activists with mass raids
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities in Belarus raided the homes of dozens of journalists and activists Wednesday, according to a human rights group, in what appeared to be the biggest one-day crackdown on dissent in the past three months. Independent journalists, human...
EU urged not to forget Belarus as bloc prepares sanctions
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya appealed Wednesday to the European Union not to forget the plight of ordinary citizens and political prisoners in the former Soviet country. Tsikhanouskaya's plea came as the EU prepares new sanctions in...
Iraqi Kurds cite work, graft as reasons behind Minsk gamble
DOHUK, Iraq (AP) — The smuggler had said the car would come in 10 minutes, but Zaid Ramadan had been waiting in the dense forest straddling the Poland-Belarus border for three hours, desperate for signs of headlights in the mist — and a new life in Europe. His...
Belarus' oldest newspaper is banned as extremist
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus' oldest newspaper was banned on the 115th anniversary of its founding Tuesday, the latest move in the government's relentless crackdown on independent media in the ex-Soviet nation. The Nasha Niva newspaper was outlawed as extremist by the...
Belarus says it has helped more than 100 migrants leave
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarusian authorities say they have helped more than 100 migrants leave the country on Monday and more are prepared to leave Tuesday, a statement that comes after almost two weeks of tensions at Belarus' border with Poland, where hundreds of people remain stuck. ...
Yazidi family abandons EU dream, reluctantly returns to Iraq
DOHUK, Iraq (AP) — Khari Hasan Kalo peered out of the window of the repatriation flight as it touched down in northern Iraq. It's a place he and his family had hoped never to see again after they left for Belarus two months ago, driven by dreams of a new life in Europe. ...
Iraqi migrants caught in border crisis in Belarus fly home
BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of Iraqis returned home Thursday from Belarus after abandoning their hopes of reaching the European Union — a repatriation that came after tensions at Poland’s eastern border, where thousands of migrants became stuck in a cold and soggy forest. ...
Belarus brings some migrants in from cold at Polish border
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Hundreds of migrants who were camped in the cold on the Poland-Belarus border have been moved to a nearby warehouse in Belarusian territory, reports said Wednesday, with some still harboring hopes of entering the European Union. The move came a day...
