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The European Union said Wednesday it does not recognize the results of Belarus’s August 9 election that detractors of President Alexander Lukashenko say was rigged to extend his 26 years in office. The EU also said it would move forward with sanctions on Belarus.
 
“The EU will impose shortly sanctions on a substantial number of individuals responsible for violence, repression and electoral fraud,” European Council President Charles Michel said after an EU emergency summit to discuss the crisis in Belarus.
 
Unrest in Belarus further escalated Wednesday when Lukashenko ordered his police to suppress protests in the capital, Minsk, days after a severe crackdown on peaceful protesters that resulted in the deaths of at least two people, the injuring of hundreds of others and the detention of nearly 7,000 people.
 
“There should no longer be any disorder in Minsk of any kind,” the official Belta news agency reported Lukashenko as saying.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko chairs a Security Council meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 18, 2020.Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has offered military assistance to Lukashenko, warned German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday not to interfere in Belarusian affairs. Putin’s warning came as he spoke by phone with Merkel, Macron and Michel.
 
A political opponent of Lukashenko urged EU leaders before the emergency summit not to recognize the presidential election, declaring it was rigged in Lukashenko’s favor. Lukashenko denies the accusation.  
 
Political opponent Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya issued the appeal from exile in neighboring Lithuania. “I call on you not to recognize these fraudulent elections,” Tsikhanouskaya said. “Mr.  Lukashenko has lost all legitimacy in the eyes of our nation and the world.”
 
Tsikhanouskaya says she is the winner of the vote and has called for new elections under international supervision.Belarusian Opposition Leader Flees to Lithuania Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya tells supporters she feared for her children’s safety on 3rd straight night of violent anti-government protestsWorkers in Belarus began striking in recent days as part of a campaign to oust the authoritarian president.
 
Unrest began to escalate after Lukashenko dismissed demands to resign following a severe police clampdown on peaceful protesters.
 
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde has offered to visit Belarus as the incoming head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which frequently mediates disputes on the continent. Western nations and former states of the Soviet Union are members of the OSCE. 
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Asian markets are mostly higher Wednesday. The Nikkei index in Tokyo finished 0.2% higher.  Sydney’s S&P/ASX index was up 0.2% at its close.  The KOSPI index in Seoul gained 0.5%, while the TSEC index in Taipei dropped 0.7%. In late afternoon trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is down 0.8%, the Shanghai Composite is 1.1% lower, and the Sensex in Mumbai is up 0.4%. In commodities trading, gold is trading at $1,994.50 an ounce, down 0.9%.  U.S. crude oil is selling at $42.58 per barrel, down 0.7%, and Brent crude is selling at $45.09 per barrel, down 0.8%. All three major U.S. indices are flat in futures trading. 
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China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into Australian wine imports, as trade tensions between Beijing and Canberra continue to fester. Australia owes much of its recent prosperity to China, its biggest trading partner. Last year, two-way commerce was worth $170 billion, but cracks are appearing in this valuable relationship.   Australian wine growers are the latest to be caught up in escalating geo-political tensions. Exporters are accused of cutting their prices and taking market share from local companies in China. An anti-dumping inquiry has been requested by the Chinese Alcoholic Drinks Association. It will examine whether Australian firms are being supported by government subsidies. Canberra has insisted wine sales to China have been fairly priced, and officials have said they would cooperate fully with the investigation. Trade minister Simon Birmingham says Australian wine makers have done nothing wrong. “We find these suggestions deeply troubling and quite perplexing. Australian wine is by no means subsidized, it is by no means sold at or below anything other than market rates in the world market.  Indeed, Australian wine during the first half of this year proved itself to be the second highest priced wine sold in the Chinese market,” Birmingham said. The investigation comes against a backdrop of increasing friction between Beijing and Canberra after the Australian government called for an international investigation into the origins of COVID-19, which first emerged in Wuhan, China late last year.    China recently imposed tariffs on Australian barley, suspended some beef imports and told Chinese students and tourists it was not safe to travel to Australia because of allegations of racism.  China is also suspected of orchestrating cyber-attacks on Australian institutions, allegations that Beijing strongly denied. But Matt Canavan, a federal government lawmaker in Canberra, accuses China of economic coercion. “It is a pattern of behavior we are seeing from China and I do not think they can be a trustworthy business partner anymore the way they are acting, and I think every Australian business must be very careful about how much they get exposed to a jurisdiction whose behavior is increasingly threatening and bullying” Canavan said.China has insisted its anti-dumping investigation into Australian wine would be undertaken in a “fair and just way, according to the law.” A foreign ministry spokesman denied suggestions it was politically motivated. As bilateral tensions grow, analysts fear that Australia’s lucrative iron ore and coal exports could be next to suffer. 
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In an effort to woo passengers into flying again, U.S. airlines announced they are taking some new steps to protect travelers from the coronavirus. This comes as the number of people flying has once again decreased. Airlines such as Delta recently posted a nearly $6 billion loss for the 2nd quarter and many airlines are encouraging employees to retire early to reduce the need for layoffs in October when federal payroll aid expires. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo reports.
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U.S. Democrats officially nominated former Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday to be their candidate in the November presidential election on another evening in which prominent Republicans joined with Democrats in criticizing President Donald Trump while praising Biden’s leadership skills.  Biden had been the party’s presumptive nominee for months after outlasting a crowded field of Democratic presidential hopefuls in state-by-state primary and caucus votes, including his closest rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. On the second night of the Democratic National Convention, the traditional roll call vote of states officially picking the party nominee featured representatives speaking from their states and territories pledging their support for Biden as he now runs against Trump, a Republican.In this image from video, Gilbert Alaquinez of Arkansas speaks during the state roll call vote on second night of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 18, 2020.Biden said the nomination “means the world to me and my family, and I’ll see you on Thursday,” looking ahead to his speech accepting the nomination on the final night of the convention. As Democrats gathered virtually, Trump traveled Tuesday to two key battleground states, Iowa and Arizona, and sought to curry favor with women voters with a pardon earlier in the day of women’s suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony who protested during the 1870s. ‘Finding mercy and grace’Biden’s wife, Jill, said that if elected, her husband would bring to the White House “leadership worthy of our nation” at the time of an historic coronavirus pandemic and economic depression.  “There are those who want to tell us that our country is hopelessly divided, that our differences are irreconcilable. But that’s not what I’ve seen over these months,” Jill Biden said as she gave the final remarks of the night. “We’re coming together and holding onto each other. We’re finding mercy and grace in the moments we might have once taken for granted. We’re seeing that our differences are precious and our similarities infinite.In this image from video, Jill Biden, wife of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, speaks during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. “We have shown that the heart of this nation still beats with kindness and courage. That’s the soul of America Joe Biden is fighting for now,” she said, delivering her speech from a classroom in the high school where she once taught in Wilmington, Delaware. Jill Biden has played an active, behind-the-scenes role in her husband’s third run for the presidency over three decades. Aides say she offered her thoughts on his choice of a vice presidential running mate before he chose California Senator Kamala Harris last week, making Harris the first Black woman and South Asian American to be picked for a spot on a national U.S. political ticket. Harris is set to give her convention acceptance speech Wednesday, along with remarks from former President Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Former Secretary of State John Kerry, who served in the Obama-Biden administration, used his speech Tuesday night to portray Trump’s foreign policy as a failure. “When this president goes overseas, it isn’t a goodwill mission, it’s a blooper reel. He breaks up with our allies and writes love letters to dictators. America deserves a president who is looked up to, not laughed at,” Kerry said. Kerry added that Biden understands that the problems facing the world, including the coronavirus, terrorism and climate change, cannot be resolved “without bringing nations together with strength and humility.”John Kerry speaking at the Democratic National Convention held in Milwaukee, Aug. 18, 2020.Times of crisis Former President Bill Clinton criticized Trump’s leadership, particularly in times of crisis. “At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center. Instead, it’s a storm center. There’s only chaos,” Clinton said. “Now you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else.  “If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he’s your man. Denying, distracting, and demeaning works great if you’re trying to entertain and inflame. But in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards,” the former president said. Next week, Trump is set to officially accept his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are making campaign stops during Biden’s week in the spotlight, traveling to political battleground states that could play a pivotal role in the election. Trump headed to the Midwestern state of Iowa on Tuesday and later visited Yuma, Arizona, near the border with Mexico to assess the construction of a border wall to thwart undocumented immigrants from crossing into the United States. The issue was a major plank of his successful 2016 run for the presidency.  On Thursday, Trump plans to visit a site near Biden’s boyhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 
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The U.S. Agency for Global Media announced Tuesday that it is moving forward with funding two internet firewall circumvention projects despite an ongoing legal battle over the agency’s broader internet freedom strategy. The awardees — Psiphon and ACI — write software that help people gain access to websites and information blocked by their governments.  “Our agency is determined to expand freedom of expression by continuing to explore, develop, and fund the most secure and effective internet freedom tools,” FILE – Michael Pack, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, is seen at his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Sept. 19, 2019. Pack’s nomination was confirmed June 4, 2020.The announcement comes as USAGM, which is also the parent agency of Voice of America, remains locked in a legal battle with the Open Technology Fund (OTF), a Washington-based organization that receives a grant from USAGM to fund internet freedom technologies worldwide. Founded in 2012 as a pilot program under Radio Free Asia, another media organization under USAGM, OTF was spun out into a nonprofit organization in the fall of 2019. After Pack assumed office in June, he moved to fire OTF’s board and executives and install new leadership. A federal appeals court blocked that move in July. USAGM has withheld funding to OTF, leading the organization to halt 49 of its 60 internet freedom projects.US Global Internet Freedom Group Says Work Limited by Funding Dispute Open Technology Fund says global media chief is blocking access to $20 million for programs aimed at evading censorship in China, Iran, other authoritarian countriesEarlier this month, a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers asked the Trump administration to release $20 million in congressionally approved funds for OTF. Psiphon, based in Toronto, creates software that “helps over 3 million people every week connect to content on the Internet,” according to its website. ACI, also known as Advanced Circuiting Inc., is the creator of NthLink, an “anti-censorship mobile application capable of circumventing Internet censorship and self-recovering from blocking events,” according to material on its website.  Both Psiphon and ACI have received funding through OTF over the past few years. A May OTF monthly report called the companies “veteran circumvention tool providers.” Details of the new awards were unavailable. 
 
USAGM did not respond to a request for comment by deadline. Lawyers representing Open Technology Fund board members also did not respond to questions about the awards.  In its announcement Tuesday, USAGM also said it was reviving the Office of Internet Freedom (OIF), which was created in 2016 but had ceased operations. It is through the OIF that the grants to Psiphon and ACI were made. OIF will soon launch “another round of competitive bidding to fund additional internet freedom technology,” according to the USAGM press release. Pack said that reviving the Office of Internet Freedom will help allow people worldwide to gain access to information. “Blocking access to information is a horrible thing. But fostering access to information, especially in this advanced capacity, will prove a blow for liberty,” Pack said in a statement. “That’s why we’re funding a range of internet firewall circumvention tools. Bringing back OIF will further allow our agency to make significant strides in this area.” 
 
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A group recommending a new Mississippi state flag chose five final designs Tuesday — three with a magnolia blossom, one with a magnolia tree and one with a shield that has wavy lines representing water. Mississippi legislators voted in late June to retire the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem that’s broadly condemned as racist. “When the flag came down, it was one of the great days of my life,” Reuben Anderson, chairman of a nine-member flag commission, said during Tuesday’s meeting. The law shelving the old flag created the commission to come up with a new design that cannot include the Confederate battle emblem and must have the phrase, “In God We Trust.” Four of the designs chosen Tuesday are mostly or entirely red, white and blue. One has a stylized white magnolia tree on a blue background. Most have stars representing Mississippi as the 20th state. Each includes one star made of five diamond shapes that reflect the state’s Choctaw heritage. The five final designs will be manufactured. Commissioners hold their next meeting August 25, and those flags will be hoisted outside the Old Capitol in downtown Jackson. The Old Capitol is now a museum but was still the statehouse in 1894, when white supremacists in the Mississippi Legislature adopted a state flag with the Confederate battle emblem in the upper left corner. That vote reflected the backlash against political power African Americans briefly gained during Reconstruction. The state Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that even though the flag had remained in use, it lacked official status because state laws were updated in 1906 and sections describing the flag were not included. Mississippi residents voted in a 2001 election to keep the Confederate-themed flag, but it remained a divisive symbol in a state with a 38% Black population. All of Mississippi’s public universities and many local governments stopped flying it. Legislative leaders said for decades that they could not muster support to change the flag, but momentum shifted rapidly after Minneapolis police killed a Black man named George Floyd and protests against racial injustice happened across the U.S., including outside the Mississippi governor’s mansion. The final push to change the flag came from business, education, religion and sports leaders. Legislators created a nine-member commission, and that group received nearly 3,000 designs from the public. Commissioners will choose one design September 2, and that will go on the November 3 ballot. If voters accept the design, it will become the new Mississippi flag. If they reject it, the commission will find a new design to go on the ballot later. Even as the commission is working toward a new flag, some Mississippi residents are rebelling against change. Organizers of a group called Let Mississippi Vote said Monday that they are starting an initiative  to put the old Confederate-themed flag and three other flag designs on the statewide ballot. But the initiative process is burdensome, and their efforts will be complicated by the coronavirus pandemic. If the initiative gets to the ballot, that election could be a year or two away. And, Mississippi could be flying a new flag by then.  
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Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​.Daily DebunkClaim: The Covid-19 virus cannot survive on an inanimate object for more than nine days.Verdict: CorrectRead the full story at: Africa CheckSocial Media DisinfoWilson Primary School in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Cheney OrrCirculating on social media: Claim that under the “COVID Act,” school officials in the U.S. can quarantine children with COVID-19 symptoms outside their family home without their parents’ or guardians’ consent.Verdict: FalseRead the full story at: SnopesFactual Reads on CoronavirusCoronavirus Doctors Battle Another Scourge: Misinformation
Physicians say they regularly treat people more inclined to believe what they read on Facebook than what a medical professional tells them.
— New York Times, August 17
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Doctors in Libya are braced for a surge in serious coronavirus cases, as the infection rate has jumped in recent weeks. Latest figures suggest there are around 8,500 cases in the conflict-torn country, though the true figure is likely to be much higher. As Henry Ridgwell reports, authorities are urging people to adhere to social distancing to slow the spread of the disease.Camera:  Henry Ridgwell      Produced by: Rob Raffaele 
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