⁍ Lukashenko faces the biggest challenge of his 26-year rule since claiming victory in an election last month that opponents say was rigged.

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⁍ Lukashenko denies electoral fraud and shows no sign of backing down despite the threat of Western sanctions.

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⁍ The European Union has been working on a list of individuals to target with sanctions but is expected to exclude Lukashenko.

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– The United Nations says it has received reports of hundreds of cases of torture, beatings, and mistreatment in the wake of last month’s disputed presidential election in Belarus—and the country’s longtime ruler isn’t budging. Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, says he won the Aug. 9 election with 80% of the vote, but his opponents say the real figure is closer to 50% and say they won’t accept the results until he steps down, the New York Times reports. Thousands of students, who boycotted the start of the school year on Tuesday, are calling for Lukashenko’s resignation and for new elections, Reuters reports. The European Union has imposed travel bans on Lukashenko and 29 other officials, while the US is considering sanctions against seven individuals it says were involved in falsifying the election and in violence against protesters. “The eventful summer is over,” Lukashenko said as he visited a vocational training college on Tuesday, according to the state-run news agency. “The government has denied abusing detainees. UN human rights investigators said on Tuesday they had received reports of hundreds of cases of torture, beatings, and mistreatment. The government has denied abusing detainees.”