Section: National Newswatch (Canada)
President of Belarus inaugurated despite disputed election
KYIV, Ukraine — President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has assumed his sixth term of office in an inauguration ceremony that wasn’t announced in advance. State news agency Beltra reported that Wednesday’s ceremony is taking place in the capital of Minsk, with several hundred top government official present. It comes after six weeks...
Police detain over 400 during Sunday protests in Belarus
KYIV, Ukraine — Police in Belarus said they detained more than 400 protesters who took part in a weekend demonstration demanding the resignation of the nation’s authoritarian president following a disputed vote. With protests rocking the country for more than six weeks, tens of thousands of Belarusians marched through Minsk, the capital, on...
Facts Versus Narratives
People have a tendency to interpret new facts as being consistent with their strongly held beliefs. This propensity, known as confirmation bias, is well known. What is not generally appreciated, however, is that confirmation bias is not just a mild affliction. It is a dominating factor in human thinking — especially with matters distant from...
Belarus activists make list of police from protest crackdown
KYIV, Ukraine — The main opposition candidate in Belarus’ disputed presidential election said Thursday that activists are compiling a list of law enforcement officers who were allegedly involved in violence against protesters denouncing the results of the vote. Nearly 7,000 people were detained and hundreds were brutally beaten by police...
Health official on leave amid political interference furor
WASHINGTON — A Trump health appointee is taking a leave of absence after allegations of political interference in the federal coronavirus response, followed by a personal video that warned of election violence and all but equated science with resistance. Michael Caputo has decided to take 60 days “to focus on his health and the well-being of his...
German government calls Navalny recovery ‘encouraging’
BERLIN — The German government on Wednesday welcomed news that poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s condition has further improved after his poisoning in Russia and confirmed that Moscow had sent a second request for judicial assistance in the case. Navalny, who fell ill on a domestic flight in Russia on Aug. 20, posted a...
Whistleblower’s claims on Russian interference fits pattern
WASHINGTON — A whistleblower’s allegation that he was pressured to suppress intelligence about Russian election interference is the latest in a series of similar accounts involving former Trump administration officials, raising concerns the White House risks undercutting efforts to stop such intrusions if it plays down the seriousness of...
Top Belarus activist says authorities threatened to kill her
KYIV, Ukraine — A prominent opposition activist who resisted her forcible expulsion from Belarus by ripping up her passport accused Belarusian authorities Thursday of threatening to kill her amid their efforts to end a month of protests against the country’s authoritarian president. Maria Kolesnikova said in a formal complaint released by...
Belarus activist resists authorities’ push to leave country
KYIV, Ukraine — A leading opposition activist in Belarus was held on the border Tuesday after she resisted an attempt by authorities’ to force her to leave the country, part of government efforts to end a month of protests against the reelection of the country’s authoritarian leader. Maria Kolesnikova, a member of the Coordination...
Students, IT workers keep pressure on defiant Belarus leader
KYIV, Ukraine — Hundreds of demonstrators rallied again in Belarus’ capital Friday to protest the disputed reelection of the nation’s authoritarian president, while police dispersed university students attempting to show solidarity with peers who were detained earlier in the week. Information technology workers and other protesters...
