a rally in support of the better russian president is underway in the capital's independence square while the opposition also intends to hold a counter-rally there any time soon it does follow days of protests marred by violence for the country but many are refusing to accept the outcome of last sunday's election in the stories that shape the week russia launches production of its coronavirus back seen to be in the world to be registered but there are concerns over the speed at which it was developed and the lebanese government the prime minister resigned amid the civil unrest in beirut following that deadly chemical explosion in the city we talked to a woman who lost her husband in the blood. i promised my son that i

mean and his that's going to be on his birthday and i brought this promise. that i welcome the latest developments in a look back at the last 7 days to you watch the weekly here on r.t. international now let's start this hour a better reason because a rally in support of the country's president is underway in the center of minsk at the moment alexander lukashenko won a 6th term in office in last sunday's disputed election with protests raging across the country ever since opposition demonstrators are making their way to counter a rally that's supposed to start around also at the site of the pro gathering in the capital's independence square from where our correspondent earlier filed this report. what. music is playing people coming

from different parts of the city some of come from the regions on buses you can see for yourself the green and red national flags of lewdness the stage is ready as well as the mike and the rumors going around that perhaps alexander lukashenko himself will give a speech that hasn't been confirmed. ok let's get more and i will miss developing story from dawn quarter he's outside the better russian embassy in moscow where crowds have been turning up every evening this week to show solidarity to doand good afternoon she what's happening then. good afternoon andy well like you said you can see behind me a crowd of people has gathered in protest in front of the belorussian embassy a bit earlier than previous days where there are usually gathering around in the evening but here right now there's both opponents and supporters of president alexander lukashenko administration and it's coinciding specifically with protests

that are going on right now in belarus specifically in minsk itself earlier today president lucas schenkel arrived at independence square in minsk when a demonstration in support of his administration began and is actually still going on right now and we were able to talk with some of the participants of that demonstration so let's hear what they had to say about it. today is the happiest day of my life or at least in the last year finally i can express my views here and not just on the internet i support alexander lukashenko i wasn't forced to come here this is my personal choice i thought so many threats but they won't break me i bought the station with my own money no one paid me. i support disability what's happening now reminds me of ukraine in 2014 everything started it was that people the same way many of my friends only of the so. good stuff with. the young people with flowers now just don't understand what was happening here in 1900 have

they want to return to 917 when people toppled the russian empire in a similar way and civil war theory but we want peace. now videos have also emerged across the internet of tractors approaching the protest area although it's still unknown for what reason they were traveling that way but right now an anti look at shango demonstration is just beginning to take place protesters are arriving at the same independence square where a pro protest is taking place now over the past week of on rest the abnormal brutality with which the police have used to control the protests has only seemed to really strengthen opposition forces in the country earlier this week we saw the workers across the country's major factories go on strike against the police brutality we also saw so-called lines of protest lines of solidarity protests in which women dressed in white were holding flowers and portraits of family members who had been arrested since the beginning of the political violence now just

yesterday in moscow we saw a similar protest in front of the the embassy right here to that line of solidarity protest in minsk and there's there's a lot of protesters here right now some of them also dressed in white copying this form of protest and so we're only likely to see more protesters later today as this is typically when they've been taking place in the evening. come back she regularly during the afternoon and evening to and that was done cool several things have a page of calm in. the 1st half of the week was mobbed by a lot of violent. i just take in people that i doing i think i was. yes i swallowed yes q yes i've come out but i want to leave in a free and peaceful come up with mr ickes.

and. how much of this mass that is going on can you take this time we're told. that such. was. what was. the batteries authorities meanwhile have also been criticised for failing to protect journalists 64 were detained during the recent time arrest among them reporters working for artie's video agency wrote police here spent almost 5 days in jail and 7000 protesters were detained across the country this week the government began releasing them there on thursday night promising to free all of them by friday

morning although it is unclear if that is actually happened doctors were among those who were held is a firsthand account from one of. what kind of doctors are you you're not doctors i don't know what you are werewolves that's the sort of thing they shout it and a lot of swear words that i don't want to repeat they were also saying this when you were 1st held on the street everyone driving by was shocked doctors in white robes on their knees with a machine that they had. but there are 2 narratives being spun around what is at play in belarus the moment. breaks into. right now the world is being reminded that one man alexander lukashenko has ruled belarus for a long 26 years and he intends to add another 5 claiming 80 percent of all the ballots from sunday's presidential election have a tick next to his name but that's not something a considerable amount of belorussians believe taking their frustrations onto the

streets it started off with a peaceful protests mass of groups coming out and shining flashlights but the tear gas and rubber bullets started flying and chaos has taken hold. but. there are 2 realities and deloris right now and the 1st there is look shango calling the vote a celebration but one that people are trying to spoil by inciting aggression and spreading misinformation foreign powers media and social media channels are to be blamed as well so look at shingles the reality is that the protestors are bad and the special forces have no choice but to act like this.

c 2 around the. around $25.00 police officers have been injured legs broken they were deliberately hit so they responded why are you crying now a response will be adequate we will not allow you to tear the country apart the 2nd reality though is that of the protesters hundreds of thousands flooding the streets of the country calling for the president to step down and contending authoritarian rule but also posting instructions on how to make multiple cocktails on social media accounts which is literally playing with fire with tensions so high and while we can't ignore the videos of police beating people on the street we can ignore the . clip showing a car ramming into troops in the capital either we haven't judging either of the realities but the international community is condemning the election as neither free nor fair not that they were invited to observe it so where does that leave looking shango he's a man largely without friends the west still dubbed him europe's last dictator while he's slowly pushed away his closest ally russia but nevertheless he's still

claiming victory and his political rivals have either been put in jail or fled the country including his opponent in the election so. i took a very difficult decision i did that by myself my friends family colleagues and husband did not influence me many will understand me many will judge many will start to hate everyone is that freeing and it's not clear who will win if anyone but as we heard a number of countries have condemned what they call a rigged election and ensuring police response to the protests is the latest reaction from europe and the united states i was glad to see the release of some protestors but that certainly is not the common objective is to support the belarus in people to achieve their sovereignty their own freedom the european union will put forward to the better russian authorities a proposal for e.u. support and establishing an facilitating a dialogue between the political authorities opposition and broader society in view

of resolving the current crisis ministers also agreed on the need to sanction those responsible for violence repression and the force of occasion of election results sanctions of the end of politics the key question now is what kind of policy the e.u. has towards by the roots for us the european union is one of our top priorities. alexander lukashenko to discuss the current situation in this country with his russian counterpart vladimir putin they did agree that it should not be exploited by 3rd party forces seeking to harm cooperation between the 2 states some of our guests said that they saw hints of ukraine back in 2014 while others do say that more dialogue is needed. there are very strong similarities between what we laid out in front of right now and what happened to you trace we had a very similar scenario have a color so it takes to bring a successful color revolutions make yugoslavia the united states like in that line

of many western countries with whatever happens in itself but also between it will be illegitimate we had the same rhetoric coming out of the western capitals as we're getting yet that the government that was told it couldn't really respond to any protests against even if they turn violent and that's what we're seeing so it's kind of really that we've seen many times before and it doesn't end well that maybe that the previous law that it did well for the people of your great probably the better comparison is with ukraine in 2004 of the time of the so-called orange revolution by the russian society whatever its muniz on who should be president. is anxious to avoid not only the kind of violence or people who saw ukraine in february 2014 but all the problems in ukraine has had ever since and i think for those of us who want to see a peaceful and if you like a legitimate democratic outcome for both of us it's very important that the losing side in any political crisis has options of coming back from the ballot box once you foreclosed that new then do risk civil war civil conflict which is after all

what has been set parts of ukraine ever since because it is escalating that means that both sides are short sided of the hair or lack of strategic vision of the situation overthrowing the governmental side it would be wise to ask the opposition to the least of the interests so why they are so keen to get to read all the president lucas and opposition should also try to find a way to be integrated into into into legal political process drive to suggest something that is acceptable to the government. found other news in 100 if it can development. fight against david 19 on tuesday russia and i'm said had registered the world's 1st corona virus vaccine has been named sputnik 5 and on saturday the country's health ministry did confirm that production of the 1st batches had already started the breakthrough however was welcomed with caution in scientific

and political circles with questions surrounding the vaccines efficacy and western media have also mocked the russian innovation claiming it has no scientific value and say it is not safe enough as it still not passed the crucial 3rd phase of testing i hope that the russians have actually definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective i seriously doubt that they've done that it is not about being 1st it is about having a try sas didn't say vaccine which will be given that's the important part to hundreds of millions maybe even billions of people the problem is that we know very little because the russian authorities are not being very transparent and so i am very skeptical about what's happening in russia. our foreign colleagues who probably want a kind of competitive advantage over the russian vaccine or offering judgments that are to our minds completely groundless in fact many countries have taken

accelerated decisions in their vaccine studies but the russian vaccine has already seen distinct clinical trials and evidence. while the vaccine was developed at moscow's gamma law institute medical workers teachers in those considered to be in other high risk groups will be the 1st to receive it and released to the general public is set for some time in the new year where the developers do say that 2000 people will be vaccinated shortly. as continuing more than 1000000000 the uses of russian of the russian vaccine have already been requested to from different countries across the globe orders mostly came from asia and the middle east carol dimitri is the head of the russian sovereign wealth fund that is investing in the country's research she did talk to r.t. about this new vaccine in more detail. on the russians people all over the world a very buyer told the wire i was very tired of the restrictions of very tired all

the refuse to come on. those are one of the countries. in which believes there is very active read all sorts of. people now here about the hope to raise your moral life as a vaccination. well i'm confident enough to inject good legacy of myself my wife my of and your 4 year old parents and i think it's very important that we understand the science behind civics so russia great historic knowledge of what she can get my interest groups has developed very successful all of it seeing and mercy and then basically current virus just proved to be very similar the merce though we've had great science and will likely that there is a good have been done really applied where 8 blows a lead goes a fight they're not hiring it's beneficial for russian because. everything will be

followed almost i've seen to date i knows a 100 percent always a line cheers elop very strong immune response or significant side effects of 100 percent protection of animals for is you biased the level of immunity. it will produce a stronger immune response going forward but we believe we are still only ones who have those 2 if friends of the number i respect there is a used billet was a vaccine and that means that our vaccine response will last longer hopefully it will be in more than a year while scientists believe that years but of course for this effect. will be needed to really understand the duration of the vaccination. and ever since people were starting to receive permission about a week see if more and more interest but frankel also western media always lets

access to all information so i think now we have break ins through this information be there is it exists and the more people understand what we can do is they go because there's a will cycle on about the election most countries become interested even today which showed. by israel serbia it's over it's still. interest. or was the russian mix you know war is awesome. georgian weekly here not a so comfy this hour snapshots of one family's grief with beirut still reeling from tragedy we speak to a woman who lost a husband and whose daughter is battling cancer that's the come after the break. i know to no crown. no

shots. actually don't speak. well it's true you know 1st. point she your thirst for action. shows something seemed wrong. but all wrong just don't call. me the thing yet to stamp out disdain become educated and it gains from it equals betrayal. when something you find themselves worlds apart when you choose to look for common ground.

the weekly now or this week beirut was gripped by large anti-government protests following the massive explosion on august the 4th that killed over 200 people the lebanese government including the prime minister have resigned over the disaster although they are still acting as caretakers testers blame incompetence by the authorities for the blast they stormed government buildings demanding proper accountability for the explosion that destroyed so many lives along with swathes of the lebanese capital. i've

. put. thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate exploded on that fateful day leveling the port area thousands were injured in the explosion it's overwhelming beirut's health system today which was already grappling with the pandemic scores of buildings were damaged or destroyed leaving up 230-0000 people homeless animals of course don't give the full picture of how many lies there are now change forever it's not a tragedy today for one family already dealing with their daughter's cancer they were in hospital when the blast struck and the father didn't survive r.t. has been hearing their story. forgive me if i did anything that made you carry or if i hurt you forgive me i love you i know of you i love you i love you for 2 hours i used to i didn't know you were you know that i love the i love you these summer

months of always being synonymous with joy and celebration for sue his family the birthdays of the children and husband the anniversary of their wedding all of which falls during the sonny season but this year trouble started to loom on the horizon early when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer they called me in the morning they confirmed that it's classical heart and i knew that it wasn't informed by that time gemma's immune system had been shot to pieces but hodgkin's lymphoma is not a sentence for children it's curable and doctors have been reassuring suha her husband jihad was called by the news abroad in nigeria but couldn't see. they away in a crisis like this so several dozen covert tests later he came to lebanon to be with his family we slept in the hospital the same bed the same everything me her and him gemma's hospital room was where the port explosion called the 3 of them the windows

of the buildings in front of me crashing and then like this like this i didn't see if fair i didn't see my daughter i didn't see and anything but i wanted to pull his head like this i felt that it all smashed all all smug i was not sure that he was alive i saw his soul leaving his body i saw it but i have a sensor and i want to move on to another hospital jihad died right before his daughter's eyes at only 6 gemma faces 2 battles most adults would struggle to win cancer and coping with her father's death she drove for me and around. a circle. she said she color that was red i knew it's her bed. and it was full of blood. suhas heart breaks when she blames herself for letting

her daughter witness all that and letting down her son by promising that his father would be at his birthday which is this week i promised my son that are me and his they're going to be in his birthday and i broke this promise and everyone sing with happy birthday for my son it's his birthday on the 30th of august. so. we love you your mom my love you. i ask sue her if she wants to take a break from the interview she refuses adamantly there's just so much she feels she didn't tell her husband enough suhas biggest concern now is whoa daughter processing their loss gemma seems to be protecting her mother by not sharing her feelings. she told them here was listening he heard

her and i prefer can i not i'm not i'm not able to give details because they are killing me from inside me so can you imagine. her says. can you imagine the images in her brave passing whenever she closes her eyes. suah finds redemption and believe in family pictures now as she relives the fondest of memories this is how we used to sleep playing our head on each other because you know whenever i put my head on his saw that i feel secured even when he's around i don't go so far marcus i don't do anything for the house to fix care of everything everything here's a think a lot of lords from my shoulder. this is the last photo of their family together she shows it to me as i'm sitting on the very couch where it was taken this story

has been gaining traction across me jean the arabic world and we were the 1st she so kindly let in as she struggles to deal with the pain of the loss in the home she herself can face yet how am i able to come back to this house. her. oh my supposed to put my ribs on this you know and this little and go no that is for over is about the 1. 00 thing for him just to put to hard for me to put his arms to feel secure how what i'm going to . those kids when they're in 3rd when they smell his clothes there's some mean for not removing his clothes from the house i'm not going to move them but suha realizes that her life is not over she tells me its whole life mission now to eliminate the shortage of cancer medicine for lebanese children even with her mask

on i can see her smiling when she talks about her children though as she ordered them a frozen as our. unicorn because she learned about this one is very special i told her you see this is my hair because mom when you're going to take this long way to question your hair is going to fall down you're going to lose your hair so what i can do or this is my hair i'm going to give it to you or so you would wear decatur on i'm going to make her happy i would do whatever she wants the business my link her and her brother it was diana reporting from lebanon r.t. . i wrote a city in population continues to inch or so much pain one final story before we go more than 10000 fires have been recorded in the brazilian amazon and since the beginning of august and our mantra is to say that the fires are not a natural phenomenon they are part of deliberate deforestation and despite the destruction often being illegal and condemned globally it does seem the president

is still turning a blind eye. to the storm but 1st a fire happened on north just the 10th and 11th last year where social media group coordinated farmers to put on both pasture and forest areas demonstrate their approval of the anti environmental policies that government has been implementing in recent. back to me just about all and has the power to directly regenerate other biomes and

other accurate systems however what's being done today by this fire cannot be estimated at this far has a huge impact especially during the time that we're going through a very severe this is in with very strong winds and mr prosser wetland specifically is causing small fast some into large ones that cross launch and many habitats have burned so it's a criminal fast. to be much in the weekly here not international bank war stories from the last 7 days at the top of the along with the latest events in better rivers.

and on welcome to the part in less than 2 months our notion of balance has been trained and it's had many of us in longing for the being. there about our jobs and resenting the things we used. about our private lives the historically trash that response to the call with 9. has definitely masked our life setting what they just will be alive once it's over to discuss that i'm now joined by the sure man a russian political scientist.