Belarusian authorities raid top independent newspaper

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities in Belarus have raided the offices of the country’s top independent newspaper and taken two of its journalists for questioning. Belarusian authorities searched the offices of the Novy Chas (New Time) newspaper Wednesday in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and confiscated its computers and other office equipment. They also raided the apartments of the newspaper’s editor and a reporter, and took them for questioning that lasted for most of the day. No charges were immediately announced. The newspaper extensively covered massive protests that erupted after President Alexander Lukashenko’s re-election to a sixth term in an August 2020 presidential vote that was denounced as rigged by the opposition and the West.