Thousands stage flower protest in Belarus as EU weighs sanctions
Human chain
Women dressed in white formed a human chain outside a covered food market in the capital Minsk, holding flowers in the air and chanting slogans, while a crowd also gathered outside a prison where protesters were being kept.
Bernie Sanders
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who ran against Harris and Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, congratulated his former opponent.
"She understands what it takes to stand up for working people, fight for health care for all, and take down the most corrupt administration in history," he tweeted.
"Let's get to work and win."
6,000 protesters detained
Police in Belarus said Thursday they had detained 700 more people during a fourth day of protests over the ex-Soviet country's disputed election. Overall 6,000 protesters have been detained around the country.
'Attempt to topple government'
Lukashenko has accused the protesters of being in cahoots with foreign backers from Russia and elsewhere to topple his government, and compared them to criminal gangs.
Sanctions threatened
Lukashenko has sought better relations with the West amid strained relations with traditional ally Russia. Brussels lifted sanctions, imposed over Lukashenko's human rights record, in 2016, but will weigh new measures this week.
Lithuania, Poland and Latvia jointly offered to mediate between Lukashenko and the protesters, and threatened sanctions at a European or national level if the offer was declined.
Police brutality
In Brest, a city in southwestern Belarus on the Polish border, police fired live rounds after some protesters it said were armed with metal bars ignored warning shots fired in the air, the ministry said. One person was injured.
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