Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Belarus opposition movement gains momentum as world watches

 

at 8/14/20 11:17pm

Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko faced mounting opposition on Friday (14 August) to his disputed re-election as factory workers joined popular protests and the European Union moved to impose new sanctions on his regime.

[Category: Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus, Belarus protests, police violence, Russia, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya]

— Friends again: Belarus hands 32 detained ‘mercenaries’ over to Russia

 

at 8/14/20 10:46pm

Russia on Friday (14 August) announced the safe return of 32 of its citizens after Belarus detained them saying they were mercenaries sent to destabilise the country ahead of Sunday's presidential election.

[Category: Belarus, Belarus protests, covert action, Russia, Russian mercenaries]

— EU approves Belarus sanctions, debates Turkey crisis

 

at 8/14/20 1:05pm

EU foreign affairs ministers agreed on Friday (14 August) to draw up a list of targets in Belarus for a new round of sanctions in response to strongman Alexander Lukashenko's post-election crackdown.

[Category: Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus elections, EU-Belarus, Greece, Sanctions, Turkey]

— Belarus, Turkey on agenda as Macron and Merkel meet

 

at 8/14/20 11:57am

French President Emmanuel Macron will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week at his Mediterranean holiday retreat to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the post-election protests in Belarus and growing tensions with Turkey, the presidency said Friday (14 August).

[Category: Belarus, Brexit, France, Franco-German relations, Germany, Turkey]

— 17 newly arrived migrants in Lesbos test Covid-19 positive

 

at 8/14/20 8:22am

Greece has been lucky – 17 migrants, all from Somalia, are safely isolated at Kara Tepe camp in the island of Lesbos, a show-case reception centre on the island. But at the overcrowded Moria camp on the same island the...

[Category: coronavirus, Greece, hotspots, refugee crisis, relocation, Somalia]

— President von der Leyen calls for sanctions on Belarus

 

at 8/14/20 5:29am

European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen joined on Friday (14 August) a growing chorus calling for sanctions on Belarus where security forces cracked down on protests against strongman Alexander Lukashenko claiming victory in a disputed election.

— Instead of resigning, Borissov calls for new Bulgarian constitution

 

at 8/14/20 4:43am

The national audience was expecting his resignation. But veteran Prime Minister Boyko Borissov made a televised address on Friday (14 August) in which he proposed a change of constitution – a move seen as an obvious attempt to buy time....

[Category: Boyko Borissov, Bulgaria, Bulgarian elections, corruption, EPP, European Parliament]

— DR Congo struggles to wipe out armed groups

 

at 8/14/20 2:43am

DR Congo's army launched an offensive last October to root out the armed groups that infest the east of the vast country. Today, the much-trumpeted campaign seems to have made only meagre gains

[Category: armed groups, Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, human rights, militias]

— EU reserves 400 million doses of US-made virus vaccine

 

at 8/14/20 12:40am

The European Union said Thursday (13 August) it had reserved up to 400 million doses of a potential new coronavirus vaccine being developed by US giant Johnson & Johnson.

[Category: coronavirus, coronavirus vaccine, United States]

— Hungary opposition pledge anti-Orbán 2022 election pact

 

at 8/14/20 12:28am

Hungary's six largest opposition parties pledged Thursday (13 August) to form an unprecedented wide-ranging alliance to challenge Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the next general election in 2022.

[Category: hungarian elections, Hungarian opposition, Hungary, illiberal democracy, Viktor Orbán]

— Tens of thousands rally in Belarus against post-vote crackdown

 

at 8/14/20 12:17am

Tens of thousands of Belarusians staged a wave of peaceful protests on Thursday (13 August) against President Alexander Lukashenko's disputed re-election and an ensuing brutal police crackdown.

[Category: authoritarian regime, Belarus, Belarus elections, Democracy, protests]

— Independent Cyprus turns 60 without much ado

 

at 8/14/20 12:05am

Cyprus marks 60 years since independence from Britain without fanfare on Sunday (16 August), as the small island remains divided and home to foreign bases and a UN peacekeeping force.

[Category: Cyprus, Northern Cyprus, United Kingdom]

— France to reciprocate Britain’s quarantine

 

at 8/13/20 11:53pm

Britain's decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France will lead to a reciprocal measure, French junior minister for European affairs Clément Beaune said late on Thursday (13 August).

[Category: coronavirus, France, travel restrictions, United Kingdom]

— NSA, FBI expose Russian intelligence hacking tool

 

at 8/13/20 11:41pm

The US National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation have exposed a sophisticated Russian hacking tool, they said on Thursday (13 August) in a rare public report offering new insight on Russia’s arsenal of digital weapons.

[Category: cyber espionage, FBI, hackers, Russia, United States]

— ‘Massive poisonous shock’: Scientists fear lasting impact from Mauritius oil spill

 

at 8/13/20 11:30pm

Some corals have lived for centuries at the fringes of Mauritius. Now smothered for days in heavy fuel oil spilled from a wrecked Japanese tanker nearby, parts of those reefs may be in trouble.

[Category: ecological disaster, Mauritius]

— Israel, UAE to normalize relations in shift in Mideast politics

 

at 8/13/20 11:13pm

Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday (13 August) that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics.

[Category: Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, Iran, Israel, Middle East conflict, Palestinians, United Arab Emirates]

— Pompeo says 5G declaration protects Slovenia against authoritarian threats

 

at 8/13/20 8:50am

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that by signing a 5G declaration on Thursday (14 August) Slovenia has secured protection against "authoritarian threats" including China's effort "to control people and information."

[Category: 5G, China, Mike Pompeo, Slovenia, United States]

— Thai PM appeals for unity amid almost daily protests

 

at 8/13/20 6:34am

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha appealed for unity in a televised address to the nation on Thursday (13 August) amid almost daily student-led anti-government protests since mid-July.

[Category: human rights, military junta, monarchy, Thailand]

— Belarus starts to release prisoners as EU weighs sanctions

 

at 8/13/20 6:18am

Belarusian authorities on Thursday (13 August) began releasing some of the thousands of people detained in a crackdown by strongman President Alexander Lukashenko that has prompted the European Union to consider imposing sanctions.

[Category: authoritarian regime, Belarus, EU sanctions, police violence]

— In China, fears of financial Iron Curtain as US tensions rise

 

at 8/13/20 2:59am

A sharp escalation in tensions with the United States has stoked fears in China of a deepening financial war that could result in it being shut out of the global dollar system.

[Category: China, Cold War, Dollar, Donald Trump, SWIFT, TikTok, United States, US sanctions, yuan]

— Taiwan to raise defence spending as China details combat drills

 

at 8/13/20 1:30am

Taiwan unveiled a T$42.1 billion ($1.4 billion) increase for next year’s planned defence spending on Thursday (13 August), as China announced details of its latest combat drills near the democratic island.

[Category: China, military escalation, Taiwan, United States]

As of 8/15/20 1:52pm. Last new 8/15/20 2:24am.