Police violently cracked down on demonstrators in the first days of the protests, arresting some 7,000 people and beating hundreds. Although they have scaled back, detentions continue; Viasna reported scores of people were arrested in Minsk and in the city of Grodno on Sunday.

Police and army troops blocked off the center of Minsk on Sunday, but demonstrators marched to the outskirts of the Palace of Independence, the president's working residence 3 kilometers (2 miles) outside the city center. The palace grounds were blocked off by phalanxes of shield-bearing riot police and water cannon.

"This sea of ​​people cannot be stopped by military equipment, water cannons, propaganda and arrests. Most Belarusians want a peaceful change of power and we will not get tired of demanding this,"said Maria Kolesnikova, a leader of the Coordination Council set up by the opposition to try to arrange a dialogue with the 66-year-old Lukashenko about a transition of power.

She spoke with The Associated Press by telephone.

Lukashenko has rejected any discussion with the council and some of its top members have been jailed. One of them, Olga Kovalova, was expelled from the country over the weekend, driven to Poland by police.

Despite the stalemate between Lukashenko and the opposition, protesters say they are determined not to tire. Some of the placards they carried Sunday showed a lively sense of humor.

"Lukashenka, start building a house near Yanukovych,"read one, referring to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych who fled to Russia in 2014 after months of anti-government protests.

"The collective farm went bankrupt,"said another, evoking Lukashenko's former position as a collective farm director and his retention of largely state-controlled Soviet-style economy for Belarus, an Eastern European nation of 9.5 million.

Authorities also have revoked the accreditation of many Belarusian journalists and deported some foreign journalists, including two Moscow-based Associated Press journalists. AP's Belarusian journalists were among those told their press credentials had been revoked.

Tsikhanouskaya, who fled into Lithuanian exile days after the vote, is reportedly scheduled to visit Warsaw this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on September 6 repeated a call for "inclusive national dialogue," saying "impressive mass demonstrations" around Belarus show the "determination of Belarusian people to achieve their freedoms, rights & democracy" in the face of "arrests, intimidation & violence."

It's notable how quiet these meddling foreign actors were when France's Yellow Vests, easily surpassing the hundreds of thousands at its height, were protesting and suffering extreme brutality at the hands of Macron's regime.

One day later, Reuters quoted three unnamed EU diplomats as saying the bloc will seek to impose economic sanctions on 31 senior Belarusian officials, including Interior Minister Yury Karayeu, by the middle of this month.

Initial approval without specifying who would be targeted, was given in August.

"We initially agreed on 14 names but many states felt that was not sufficient. We have now reached consensus on another 17," one of the diplomatic sources told Reuters. "These are senior officials responsible for the election, for violence, and for the crackdown."

Independent Russian-language news portal Tut.by quoted an eyewitness as saying that Kalesnikava, a member of the opposition Coordinating Council's decision-making presidium, was abruptly taken into a minibus marked "Communication" early on September 7 and swept off toward an unknown destination.

"The Minsk police did not detain her," Interfax later quoted the police department of the Minsk City Executive as saying.

The Meduza news site reported that acquaintances had lost contact with the Coordinating Council's press secretary, Anton Randyonkau, and a staff member of a barred opposition presidential candidate's headquarters, Hleb Herman. They said both were incommunicado without explanation and there were concerns for their whereabouts.

The Interior Ministry's announcement on the number of detained represents a significantly higher figure than earlier estimates by rights campaigners and others monitoring the continuing crackdown.

They had cited around 180 detentions in Minsk and dozens more in Brest, Baranavichy, and the western city of Hrodna on September 6, the 29th straight day of anti-Lukashenka protests since a disputed August 9 presidential election.

Confrontations between police and demonstrators were also reported to the east in Mahilyou and in the southern city of Homel.

A small picket-style protest was already under way in Homel early on September 7.

Tsikhanouskaya, who ran for president after her husband was jailed following his announcement he would run, said on September 5 that her country is in "deep political crisis."

"Belarusians have changed. They have woken up," Tsikhanouskaya said from Vilnius, where she fled days after the vote.

Ahead of the September 6 protests, Lukashenka's security services warned of a crackdown against those who decided to participate in the unsanctioned demonstration in the capital.

But scenes from Minsk showed massive crowds and a long column of protesters on the avenue leading to the presidential palace, which was guarded by police in riot gear, and protected by metal fencing and water cannons.

Demonstrators were chanting, "Long live Belarus!" and, "Shame!" and carrying red-and-white flags and banners, a symbol of the opposition that has been banned by the authorities.

Police later dispersed protesters with the help of tear gas.

On September 5, two unsanctioned rallies organized separately by university students and women's groups took place in Minsk.

News agencies reported that dozens of students were dragged from the streets at those events and pushed into vans by masked security agents.

The Kremlin has ridiculed the suggested creation of a 'Navalny List' that would impose more sanctions on Russians, following accusations that Moscow is responsible for the alleged poison attack on opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

On Saturday, the American conservative journalist Bret Stephens wrote in the New York Times that the US should pass a 'Navalny Act,' similar to the 2012 Magnitsky Act, in order to punish Russian authorities for the poisoning of the political blogger.

According to Stephens, the proposal has been backed by vulture capitalist Bill Browder, who suggested that a long list of officials should be punished simultaneously by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, and Australia.

"There are many absurd initiatives, both on the right and on the left. It would be strange if a person like Browder, who is wanted by Russia for tax and other crimes, did not agree with such absurd proposals," Peskov pointed out.

After a weekend of talk in Berlin about linking the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, the speculation was dialed down on Monday by a German government spokesman.

"I understand that your questions are formed in one direction - about the repercussions," Steffen Seibert told reporters, adding that it was "too early" for a definitive response, confirming German Chancellor Angela Merkel has not yet discussed the situation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Monday, Siebert said that Merkel supported Maas' viewpoint. "The chancellor shares the opinion of the foreign minister," he confirmed.

The Kremlin does not currently see any risk of Germany blocking the construction of the pipeline. Speaking to journalists, Peskov delivered a blunt "no" when asked if Moscow was concerned that Berlin may derail the project.

Alexei Navalny has regained consciousness and is reacting to stimuli, doctors announced on Monday. He has been brought out of a medically induced coma for the first time since his suspected poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok, and is starting to breathe on his own.

Mr Navalny's doctors stressed it is too early to determine whether he has suffered any long-term damage.

"The patient has been removed from his medically induced coma and is being weaned off mechanical ventilation. He is responding to verbal stimuli. It remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning."

The news came as Dominic Raab, Britain's Foreign Secretary, said he had summoned the Russian ambassador to register the UK's "deep concern about the poisoning. It's completely unacceptable that a banned chemical weapon has been used and Russia must hold a full, transparent investigation."

• Defeated in Syria: US is at the wrong end of 'might makes right'
• US may impose sanctions on firms engaged in Syrian reconstruction
• Damascus grants Moscow priority and favourable terms on reconstruction contracts
• China given priority to help rebuild Syria
• Iran's defense minister arrives in Syria for reconstruction talks
• Post-war: Who's going to pay for Syria's reconstruction

• Trump signs executive order that cancels student loan debt for disabled veterans
• Trump thinks veterans are the perfect armed teachers, but they're divided
• Trump fired, demoted or suspended more than 8K veterans affairs employees since taking office
• Trump nominates David Shulkin for Veterans Administration chief
• Department of Veterans Affairs: Whistleblowers protection law signed by Trump
• Veterans in 2016: Backlogs, coverage gaps, and a vague Trump mandate
• Trump meets with CEOs of top non-profit hospitals to discuss overhauling health care for veterans

• Khashoggi's son flees Saudi Arabia after Riyadh authorities announce 'murder was premeditated'
• Khashoggi family denies receiving 'settlement' from Saudi regime that murdered journalist
• Twenty Saudis indicted by Istanbul court for murder of Khashoggi, Saudi trial details revealed
• UN investigators place Khashoggi murder blame on Saudi Prince
• MBS aide: Saudi Prince said to use 'bullet' on Khashoggi a year before the murder