Belarus president remains defiant as strikes widen
Yuri Bondar, Belarusian Minister of Culture, passes a woman holding a banner reading "Art demands freedom" in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Several dozen people gathered in front of the theater to support the troupe that handed in their notice to quit after the theater's director, Pavel Latushko, was fired. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
People wwave old Belarusian flags as they gather to show their solidarity with the detainees at a detention center during opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. After the police crackdown at least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
People shout a slogan "release (from prison)" to show their solidarity with the detainees at a detention center during opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. After the police crackdown at least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
People shout a slogan "release (from prison)" to show their solidarity with the detainees and people release balloons in colors of old Belarusian national flag into the sky at a detention center during opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. After the police crackdown at least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
People with a banner reading "Country for life" prepare to release balloons in colors of old Belarusian national flag into the sky to show their solidarity with the detainees at a detention centre during opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. After the police crackdown at least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A woman wearing a t-short with words reading "Mother-Belarus" holds an old Belarusian flag as other gather to show their solidarity with the detainees at a detention centre during opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. After the police crackdown at least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Theater staff brandish their resignation letters to Yuri Bondar, Belarusian Minister of Culture, not in the picture, in the Janka Kupala National Theater in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Several dozen people gathered in front of the theater to support the troupe that handed in their notice after the theater's director, Pavel Latushko, was fired. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
People shout a slogan "release (from prison)" as they gather at a detention center during opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. After the police crackdown at least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
People with an old Belarusian flag gather to show their solidarity with the detainees at a detention center during opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. After the police crackdown at least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Theatre staff show their resignation letters to Yuri Bondar, Belarusian Minister of Culture, back to the camera, in the Janka Kupala National Theater in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Several dozen people gathered in front of the theater to support the troupe that handed in their notice after the theater's director, Pavel Latushko, was fired. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
People shout a slogan "release (from prison)" as they gather to show their solidarity with the detainees at a detention center during opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Top opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya entered the race after her husband Sergei, a popular opposition blogger, was jailed earlier this year as he tried to rally support for his candidacy. The protesters gathered near a detention center where he is being held and cheered for Sergei on his 42nd birthday on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — More workers in Belarus joined a widening strike Tuesday as they press for the resignation of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has extended his 26-year rule in an election the opposition says was rigged.
Lukashenko has bluntly rejected the demands to step down following a harsh police crackdown on peaceful protesters in the days after the Aug...
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