Belarus has been rejected from participating in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands, with Minsk denouncing the decision as "politically motivated."

Russia's foreign minister on Thursday accused the West of interfering in Belarus as he met strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko who has faced months of protests over his disputed re-election.

More than 700 people were jailed following latest anti-government protests in Belarus, the interior ministry said on Monday, as anger mounted over the recent death of a protester.

The European Union warned Friday that it could impose further sanctions on targets in Belarus and condemned the death in police custody of an opposition activist.

Thousands of demonstrators turned out in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Friday to protest the death of an artist after police arrested him earlier this week.

Belarus declared two senior British diplomats "persona non grata," a foreign ministry spokesman said on television Monday, citing the "destructive nature" of their activities.

Thousands of Belarusians took to the streets of Minsk for a new protest against strongman Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday, in defiance of threats by authorities to open fire after weeks of demonstrations. The ex-Soviet nation has been gripped by historic protests after Lukashenko claimed victory in August 9 elections over Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a popular opposition…

Britain has joined several eastern European nations in withdrawing its ambassador from strife-torn Belarus in protest at President Alexander Lukashenko's expulsion of diplomats

The EU will hit Belarus officials with long-awaited sanctions over the country's political crisis on Friday, drawing an angry response from Minsk and its ally Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that neighbouring Belarus was under unprecedented external pressure, as the Kremlin's ex-Soviet ally faces a deep political crisis over a disputed election.

Britain said Thursday it was preparing sanctions against those in Belarus responsible for "rigging" the August 9 presidential election and for the subsequent crackdown on protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.

Riot police in balaclavas harshly detained some 250 demonstrators as tens of thousands of people gathered for an opposition protest on the eve of talks between President Alexander Lukashenko and his main ally, Russia's Vladimir Putin. Masked agents in uniform and plain clothes snatched people from the streets as they assembled for the "March of…