Today is Election Day in Byelorus. President Alexander Lukashenko is facing his toughest challenge in years. Sometimes referred to as Europe’s last dictator, President Lukashenko, 65, was first elected in 1994. His main opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, 37, is a political novice.
In the run up to the election, Lukashenko had journalists and members of the opposition rounded up and jailed, including Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s campaign manager. There were also mass protests and demonstrations.
There is a heavy Military and police presence in the capital city of Minsk. It’s also being reported internet connectivity has been slowed to a crawl, with many social media sites and VPN’s shut down completely.
While everything appears peaceful for now, the potential exists for major unrest, as the Belorussian people are becoming less tolerant of Lukashenko and his actions.
As I wrote this an official exit poll was released. Not that I trust it.
I’ve covered the blast in Beirut here, here and here. Today I’m going to take a quick look at the political aftermath. There have been large anti-government protests across Lebanon.
There have been reports of the military and Hezbollah militias using water cannons, tear gas and live ammo to disperse protesters. It’s my take that the everyday Lebanese are sick and tired of the corruption and Hezbollah interference.
Reading into the evidence about why there was 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port it seems pretty clear to me that the reason it was stored where it was for as long as it was is Hezbollah wanted it sold to a Hezbollah controlled company.
An India Air Express 737 skidded off the runway at Kozhikode and broke in two on Friday. 18 died in the crash, including both pilots. The plane, inbound from Dubai, was carrying 190 passengers. The incident is under investigation.
I made note of this in the View from Here a couple of days ago, but the fuel spill in Mauritius is getting worse. The MV Wakashio, believed to have been carrying 4,000 tons of oil, ran aground on a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island on 25 July. At least 1,000 tons of oil is thought to have leaked
Mitsui OSK Lines, the operator of the ship, said it had tried to place its own containment booms around the vessel but had not been successful owing to rough seas.
The ship ran aground at Pointe d’Esny, a known sanctuary for rare wildlife. Happy Khamule from Greenpeace Africa warned that “thousands” of animal species were “at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution, with dire consequences for Mauritius’ economy, food security and health”.
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Brazil just passed a grim milestone. 100,000 deaths from the Chinese coronavirus. There have been more than 3 million infections. The death toll is the second highest in the world.