EU leaders condemned the recent presidential election in Belarus as being neither free nor fair during a special summit held via video conference yesterday.
In response, European Council President Charles Michel announced plans for the EU “to impose sanctions on a substantial number of individuals responsible for violence, repression, and election fraud,” a situation he called “shocking and unacceptable.”
Some 7,000 demonstrators have reportedly been detained since protests broke out last week, with at least three deaths reported as a result of injuries sustained during the ensuing crackdown by authorities.
Speaking after the end of the summit, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he supported sanctions against those responsible for violence against demonstrators, but “doesn’t want Belarussian society to suffer as a result.”
EU leaders also stressed there should be no “external intervention” in Belarus, reported Morawiecki, a clear warning to Russia that “the process of the democratization of Belarus [should] be in the hands of the Belarusian people.”
Source: PAP, Radio Poland, Reuters
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was rushed to a hospital in the western Siberian city of Omsk this morning after falling ill due to suspected poisoning during a return flight to Moscow.
According to spokeswoman Kira Yarmysz, Navalny’s plane had to make an emergency landing after Navalny became seriously ill on the flight from Tomsk to Moscow. Navalny is thought to have been poisoned by some sort of toxin in his tea, and was reportedly unconscious and in intensive care as of this morning.
The 44-year-old Navalny rose to prominence as an ardent anti-corruption campaigner and vocal critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime. He was previously detained in 2012 and 2014 for his activities and recently drew Putin’s ire after describing the June constitutional reforms as a “coup” and a “violation of the [Russian] constitution.”
Source: PAP, Radio Poland
Senator Kamala Harris officially accepted the nomination as her party’s candidate for Vice President during the Democratic National Convention last night.
During her acceptance speech, Harris spoke extensively about the long struggle for civil rights for women and minorities, issues of social justice and equal opportunity, and the need to continue fighting to address the legacy of racism in the US. “There is no vaccine for racism,’” she emphasized, a reality she claims to know all too well as the first Black woman and the first Asian American to ever appear on a US presidential campaign ticket.
Harris went on to describe her goals for a society “where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love,” a vision passed down by generations of Americans and shared by her running mate, Joe Biden.
In additional to speeches from political heavyweights such as current Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama, Wednesday night also showcased recorded commentary from ordinary citizens and celebrities such as singer Billie Eilish, who collectively spoke to issues such as the ongoing pandemic, gun violence, climate change, and environmental protection, and violence towards women and immigrants.
The 2020 Democratic National Convention will wrap up later tonight with Joe Biden’s official acceptance speech.
Source: PAP, Nytimes.com
Biomed, a Lublin based pharmaceutical company, revealed yesterday that it had begun producing a potentially life-saving treatment for those suffering from COVID-19.
The plasma-based drug works by using immunity proteins (antibodies) taken from patients who have recovered from the disease. Through a complicated process, the antibodies are then given to those suffering from the virus.
Research has shown the antibody treatment may significantly reduce the death rate in patients suffering most acutely from the virus.
Doctor Grzegorz Czelej, who worked on the drug, gave special thanks to Poland’s mining community, which has been hit hard by the epidemic. Of the 150 liters of survivor blood needed to produce the treatment, two-thirds were given by miners.
Source: Radio Poland
Weather
Thursday will be partly cloudy and warm, with temperatures peaking at 24°C, or 76°F, and a gentle breeze coming from the north. Temperatures will drop overnight to 15°C or 59°F, with tomorrow forecast to be mostly sunny and hot.
Thomas Holdstock/ako
