Belarus

The move comes a day after Belarus ordered a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing in Minsk due to reports of a bomb aboard, in a ruse to apprehend an opposition activist.

The passenger flight carrying Roman Protasevich, the former editor of an opposition social media channel, made an emergency landing after reports of a bomb on board. No explosives were found.

"We will continue to fight and speak and raise our voices," says Belarusian athlete Yelena Leuchanka. "The face of what is happening in Belarus is largely the face of women," says an ex-U.S. diplomat.

Heather Shkliarov warns that her Belarusian American husband's health is in "immediate danger" following his late-July arrest by security forces of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Protesters in Minsk took to the streets in large numbers Sunday for the fifth weekend in a row, demanding that authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko step down.

Unidentified masked men detained opposition leader Maxim Znak on Wednesday. Others have been forced into exile or arrested. Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich warned of "terror against the people."

The Belarusian president appears to regain the upper hand after mass demonstrations against his reelection in a vote that's been criticized by the U.S. and the European Union.

Earlier this year, Alexander Lukashenko had tried to offset Kremlin pressure by pursuing rapprochement with Western nations. Now he is directing attacks toward the West and has turned to Russia again.