Belarus authorities release opposition activist

Belarus released a prominent opposition activist from prison Sunday, a move that suggested the authoritarian government is responding to pressure from Western sanctions aimed at curtailing its repression of dissent.

Belarus opposition leader released from prison

A former Belarusian opposition presidential candidate jailed since the election 16 months ago has been freed, his wife said Saturday. She said the unexpected release may be a way for Belarus' authoritarian government to try to ease Western pressure.

Lukashenko to consider political prisoner pardons

The authoritarian president of Belarus has promised to consider pardons for jailed opposition figures that the West considers political prisoners.

Belarus arrests 3 leading opposition activists

Belarus arrested three top opposition figures Wednesday who were on their way to Brussels to meet with European Union officials, a move certain to further fuel tensions with the bloc.

Thousands in Belarus protest against government

Several thousand people turned out for an anti-government rally in Belarus on Sunday to call for the freeing of political prisoners and for the former Soviet republic to become a European-style democracy.

Belarus executes 2 men convicted of subway bombing

Two men convicted of carrying out a deadly subway bombing last year in Belarus' capital have been executed, drawing strong condemnation from activists and the European Union.

Belarus bomber who allegedly killed 15 executed

One of two men who allegedly carried out a subway bombing attack in Belarus that killed 15 people and wounded hundreds more has been executed, his mother said Saturday.

Belarus bars government critics from going abroad

Belarus' authoritarian government has stepped up its crackdown on dissent by barring the regime's critics from foreign trips, some of those affected said Thursday.

Belarus president denies subway bombers clemency

Belarus' president has denied clemency to two men sentenced to death for last year's bombing in the capital's subway that killed 15 people.

Germany rebukes Lukashenko on remarks about gays

The German government says Alexander Lukashenko's comment that "it's better to be a dictator than gay" — a statement directed at Germany's gay foreign minister — reveals more about the authoritarian Belarusian leader than anything else.

Europe's last tyrant: 'Better a dictator than gay'

Belarus criticizes EU decision to pull envoys

Belarus on Wednesday strongly criticized the EU's coordinated move to recall its envoys from the ex-Soviet nation, saying it is a "path into deadlock."

Belarus-EU tensions soar as bloc pulls envoys

Tensions between authoritarian Belarus and the West soared Tuesday as the European Union announced it was recalling all its ambassadors to the former Soviet republic in response to Belarus asking the EU and Polish ambassadors to leave.

Opposition activist goes on trial in Belarus

An opposition activist who is holding a hunger strike in prison went on trial Tuesday in Belarus.

Germany: Belarus blocks rights official's visit

Germany's human rights commissioner says Belarus has blocked his plans to visit the country and meet with a jailed human rights activist.

US beats Belarus 5-0 to advance to Fed Cup playoff

After hitting her first competitive serve in five months just long, Venus Williams relaxed, recoiled and fired off another that was too much for Anastasiya Yakimova.

Wife: Imprisoned Belarus politician seeks pardon

The wife of a jailed former presidential candidate in Belarus says her husband is seeking a pardon from the country's authoritarian leader because he fears for his life.

Belarusian govt tightens its control over Internet

Belarus' authoritarian government further tightened its control over citizens' access to Internet on Friday with a new law that obliges service providers to monitor users.

House passes bill tightening Belarus sanctions

The House voted final congressional approval Tuesday on a bill tightening sanctions against Belarus and calling for the release of all political prisoners in the former Soviet republic.

Topless protest group claims Belarus police abuse

A Ukrainian organization of topless women activists says three of its members were abducted by security officers during a protest against Belarus authoritarian president, beaten, humiliated and left naked in a forest.

Belarus police detain dozens of protesters

Dozens of demonstrators, including some topless female activists, were detained Monday for denouncing Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on the first anniversary of his re-election.

Subway bombers in Belarus sentenced to death

A court in Belarus sentenced two men to death after convicting them of carrying out a deadly bombing on the capital's subway system that killed 15 people and wounded hundreds of others.

Russia secures ownership of Belarus gas pipelines

Russia's state-controlled natural gas company bought the remaining stake in Belarus' gas pipeline system Friday to become its sole owner in a move that strengthens Moscow's control over gas exports to the West.

Rights activist convicted and jailed in Belarus

Belarus' leading human rights activist was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison on Thursday at a trial condemned by U.S. and European Union officials as politically motivated.

Belarus opposition activist goes on trial

A prominent Belarusian opposition activist went on trial Wednesday in this former Soviet republic after authorities accused him of tax evasion.

The EU and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will spend seven million euros ($9.1 million) over the next four years to help contain the risks in 12 countries in the region, spanning Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Meeting in Brussels over the weekend, EU ministers all called for new economic and political sanctions against [Belarus's Alexander Lukashenko] “Europe’s last dictator.” Germany’s Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, spoke eloquently and passionately ab …

Have the the recent events related to Julian Assange and Wikileaks a US government effort to discredit him or to make it appear they are trying to discredit him? What is the basis of the allegations posted in the The Spectator UK?

As citizens of the United States worry over the implications of the pending SOPA legislation, a small land-locked country on the fringes of Europe is showing how bad things can really get.

The man holding Yafimau against his will was Roini Shimshilashvili, a former kickboxer who was an enforcer for an international organ-trafficking ring, according to evidence gathered by police in Kiev.

From a source in Washington: More intelligence is emerging about Breivik and his foreign connections, and here’s an update with the important caveat that none of it is completely confirmed at this time.  However, the interim reports are compelling reading.  At …

Several people have been arrested in Belarus following a bombing on the Minsk metro that killed 12 people and injured 126, prosecutors say. The bomb, packed with nails and ball bearings, rocked Oktyabrskaya station at rush hour on Monday evening.

As engineers battled to contain radiation leaking from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, thousands of kilometers away in Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced his answer to deepening questions about the safety of nuclear power. It's "obvious," he said.

Russia is to build a nuclear power station for Belarus and provide the $9.4 billion required as a loan to its smaller neighbor.

A rumor's beginning to spread that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's jet was flown to Minsk, Belarus:

* EU bans Belarus elite from travel to the bloc * Bloc extends asset freezes over post-election crackdown * Belarus, defiant, hints at action against EU diplomats (Adds reaction from Minsk, other details)

A wounded fox shot its would be killer in Belarus by pulling the trigger on the hunter's gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle, media said Thursday.

A wounded fox shot its would be killer in Belarus by pulling the trigger on the hunter's gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle, media said Thursday.

A wounded fox shot its would be killer in Belarus by pulling the trigger on the hunter's gun as the pair scuffled after the man tried to finish the animal off with the butt of the rifle, media said on Thursday.

Germany: SPD boss 'Arch Angel' Gabriel and his paranoia about a 'Feed Stuff Mafia'

There is a German saying: "One single swallow doesn't make a summer". One black sheep in a flock of white sheep can occur as well.

New Year's Eve may conjure up images of champagne flutes and stolen midnight kisses, but for revelers in Sao Paulo, there are more important matters to consider -- such as the color of their underpants.

Security forces in Belarus have detained over 600 people, including seven opposition candidates, after smashing a mass rally protesting fraud in the landslide re-election of president Alexander Lukashenko.

Thousands of opposition supporters in Belarus tried to storm the main government building to protest what the opposition claims was large-scale vote-rigging in Sunday's presidential election.

The Obama administration scored a victory in its drive to curb the spread of dangerous nuclear material on Wednesday with an announcement here that a former Soviet republic, Belarus, had agreed to give up its stock of highly enriched uranium by 2012.

"Officials in Belarus say a prominent opposition figure found hanged at his weekend home outside the capital, Minsk, on Friday committed suicide."

Zhukovsky, Moscow region, August 17 (Interfax) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has thanked the foreign pilots who have been working to put out the wildfires raging across Russia.

The policy of the Belarusian ruler leaves serious Western investors asking questions.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Belarussian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko have ended up in a fight over the recognition of breakaway Georgian republics Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Status of Belarusian language in contemporary Belarus (article in Belarusian).

Interesting article concerning history of Belarus' capital city - Minsk (in Belarusian language).