huge anti-government demonstrations continue in belo roost after last week's contested presidential election which saw alexander lukashenko secure a 6th term in office. says this person has been in power for 26 years. with you steve and doesn't want to miss. meanwhile the protesters also take to the streets in support of their under-fire leader. yes i support alexander lukashenko but i wasn't forced to come here this is my personal choice. and in the other stories that shaped the week russia begins mass production of its

a new vaccine claiming it is a world 1st but scientists around the globe express alarm fearing huge corners have been cut. broadcasting live from our studios in moscow this is our chief international i'm sean thomas certainly glad to have you with us as we recap the week's top stories now a week after the hugely contested presidential election still seeing massive demonstrations throughout the country both pro and anti-government rallies have been taking the streets on sunday in some cases just meters apart. opposition protesters have held a march for freedom rally throughout minsk they are demanding that long term

president alexander lukashenko resign claiming that he is clinging to power by force and ignoring people's wishes similar marches are being held across the country our correspondent reports now from the capital. through the desert for 45 this is how the protests unfolding now in independence square people have moved from the monument to here in the morning there was a pro-government rally here for lucas shanker but all the people have left now in the square it was fried and like the previous protest that happened here right place on guarding the house of the government there are only barriers national guard people there even sitting on this one office that came out and as i understand people not to sit on the barriers because it's dangerous and they could full force and that's about all the people are chanting all the familiar slogans singing the same songs i can say there's a certain development or change here. this person has been in power for 26 years he's clung to it with his teeth and doesn't want to let it go i think. we're

against violence we're defending our vote we're doing this for the future of our country i want my children not to live in a country which has violence where there's no voice and no freedom of speech thank you i can't agree with what's happening in the country one person is trying to hold on to power by force i'm trying to show everyone that i'm against it and that's why i'm here. to show demonstrators have also taken to the streets of minsk thousands from all over belarus gathered on this independence square to voice fears that opposition violence could escalate like in ukraine in 2014 because she'd go himself appeared at the rally to thank you all for their support. for december the greatest. going to you're going to her. yes

i support alexander lukashenko i wasn't forced to come here this is my personal choice. i've heard 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 to 1014 everything started in exactly the same way the young people with flowers now just don't understand what was happening here 990 s. perhaps they want to return to 117 when people toppled the russian empire in a similar way and civil war but we want peace. they protest is also being held every day outside the belorussian embassy in moscow artie's romano reports now from the russian capital. this is the 8th day where we're covering the protests here outside the embassy a bill or is let me just to give you a hint self what's going on this is a live picture you can see people lining up with the white ribbon the flowers

with the red and white flags once again this has been happening here for 8 days straight on saturday was still the largest turnout here as the line of protesters extended beyond that long over the last few days with talk to people from all walks of life but this particular protests are caught my attention issues it's a big chance there is nobody for you waiting for something to happen being anxious and there is nobody like sation there is no sense there's various pieces had to show it feels like there is a trick but you do not know when it will play out today is my wedding anniversary i wanted to you know i.d.c. events because you know personal life it's turning point was a month or 3 sent in from other serious this is the moment he seemed ok tonight he's in new resources for me uniting the students being as opposed to new life peaceful demonstrations continue in minsk as well where our earlier at least 65000

people came out in support of alexander lukashenko now those numbers are according to the interior ministry hours later and and. go around it began that building up with our correspondent in minsk reporting that there are over 100000 people the most recent reports indicate that the city's independence square is filled to near capacity similar scenes have been recorded in other places in belarus as well as pro and anti look at shanker rallies unfolded meanwhile nato is calling on men still allow the peaceful protests to continue and said that they're going to as ation is following the events in bella ruse very closely the statement came when right out. sir look at shank awards his supporters that's a nato forces are building up their army near the belorussian border

lithuania's foreign minister was quick to denounce this say that statement saying that it is indeed a lie however president of the shanghai still announced minutes or a drills near the country's western borders. although things appear calmer now in minsk of the beginning of the week was marred with unrest which left a demonstrator dead video has now emerged reportedly showing the moment of the tragedy and a bit of a warning you might find the following footage disturbing here you can see a group of riot police who are just a few meters away from the alleged victim shortly after comes the apparent moment the protester was killed elder's interior minister had previously claimed victim had tried to throw an explosive device at officers but that it went off in his hand let's now take a look at how events unfolded during the week. just take in people that i doing i think. 'd yes i swallowed yes q

yes i've come out but i want to leave in a free and peaceful country you knew. how much of this mass this is going on can you take this time literally. so should. live their lives a little. bit. the belarus authorities have also been pretty. sized for failing to protect journalists 64 were detained during this week among them reporters working for artie's video agency abruptly who spent days behind bars. nearly $7000.00 protesters were detained

across the country this week the government began releasing them on thursday night promising everyone would be freed by friday though it is unclear if that actually happened doctors were among those being held. what kind of doctors are you you're not a doctor i don't know what you are where louis is that's the sort of thing they shout at you and a lot of swear words that i don't want to repeat they were also saying that when you were 1st held in the street everyone's riding by was shocked person white ropes on their knees because they had. alexander lukashenko has been at the helm of belarus since 1904 but this year's election has been his most challenging artie's done quarter takes a look. in bellerose having the title go or daddy means you've got the most populist position in the entire post soviet sphere and for the recently reelected president alexander lukashenko he's held the position for decades.

the lives of the russians have to hold on to look even in the most critical situation is a drowning man who catches the straw that you just took my racing to be 90 percent tomorrow it will be with you like we all know it is not for you to decide for. themselves i envy myself as i am the last and only dictator in europe. i'm not going to hold this position for a lifetime this soon as the people refuse my services i'll take my bag under my arm and i'm going. on board the populist train before it was cool before politicians like steve bannon and donald trump probably even knew the meaning of the word one

of his most recent populist stunts involve the dismissal of bellerose his agricultural minister after the minister's cows failed to gain lucas shank those approval. when did you bring me here so why now tell security service to put you in handcuffs if a person does not understand that this is auschwitz and you put him in charge of the holding who did not understand you were to. look at shank as a man of inspections meetings with bureaucrats and reprimands of government officials when the cameras are watching of course this puts a smile on the faces of ordinary people who struggle daily with bureaucratic red tape it's also the main reason why they call the kobach up for many baka is also a strong man who created an enclave of the soviet union with. in europe it's been a popular stance for years but now look at those image is facing some big problems . it. sure looks shankar claims he won the election it seems like the security forces are

on his side and for a while he only faced small pockets of pro western opposition but based on the brutality used by the police to control the situation arrests made of journalists and the death of a protester it seems like the entire country's view of the government is definitely turning sour. that it's possible lucas shank goes recent anti russia statements alley and made it his main base of support those who want closer cooperation with belarus is eastern neighbor we need to address the russian mass media reduce them not to say no instance if you would see you need to get into the situation with dignity no you'll see good we have no gold to discredit the country close to us arresting russian journalists didn't help the situation either.

for the west he's always been europe's last dictator even look at shankar himself said he knew people would dispute the election results whatever the case the belorussian president will need to father more support if he wants to remain at the head of the table. a number of countries have condemned what they called a rigged election and the heavy handed response of the police the e.u. has voiced its plans to sanction those responsible for the violence and what it called the falsification of election results some analysts we spoke to are drawing parallels to what happened in ukraine in 2014 while others said dialogue remains key. there are very strong similarities between what we played out in front right now in venice and what happened to you trace we had a very similar scenario not a color so i tend to bring a successful color revolutions make yugoslavia the united states aligned in that line of many western countries with whatever happens in the result 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 thought it didn't end 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 it spews on who should be president. is anxious to avoid not only the kind of violence or people who saw in 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 through the ballot box once you fall clothes that new then do risk civil war civil conflict which is after all

what has been set up parts of ukraine ever since because it is escalating that means that both sides are short sided the hair a lack of strategic vision of the situation overthrown the governmental side it would be wise to ask the opposition to least of the interests so why they are so keen to get to read the president lucas and go to the 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. and still to come on the program russia this we do. it had approved in the world's 1st vaccine the job is already in production however scientists around the globe have. the speed of development. this is.

maximizers. that's what.

this is what happens to pensions in britain. watched as a report. i welcome back this is the weekly r t international this week beirut was gripped by a large anti-government protest following the massive explosion on august 14th that kill august 4th excuse me that killed more than 200 people the lebanese government including the prime minister have resigned over the disaster although they are still acting as caretakers protesters 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.

peter our. purpose or. goal. or. purpose or or. thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate exploded on that fateful day leveling the port area thousands were injured in the explosion it is overwhelming beirut's health system which was already grappling with the pandemic scores of buildings were damaged or destroyed leaving up 230-0000 people homeless. the numbers of course that don't give the full picture of how many lives there are now changed forever it is an added tragedy for one family already dealing with their daughter's cancer they were in the hospital when the blast struck the father

did not survive r.t. has been hearing their story. forgive me if i did anything 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 tell him i love you oh you know you are you know i love 6 you i love you these summer months have always been 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 sunny 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 i knew that it wasn't informed by that time gemma's immune system had been shot to pieces but hodgkin lymphoma is not a sentence for children it's curable and doctors have been reassuring sue her husband jihad was called by the news abroad in nigeria but couldn't stay 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 one by the like this. like this i didn't see if fair i didn't see my daughter either then and anything but i wanted to put his head like this i felt that all smashed all all so much that i was not sure that he was alive i saw his soul leaving his body i saw it but i have a sense or 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 drew for me and around. it's circle she she color that was red i knew it's her there. and it was full of blood sue his 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 the going to be on 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. my love. 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 her daughter processing their loss gemma seems to be protecting her mother by not sharing her feelings. she told them here was listening they heard her and i prefer can i not i'm not a but i'm not able to give details because they are killing me from inside me so can you imagine. herself. can you imagine the images in her a passing whenever she closes her eyes. suah finds redemption and relief 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 gossip or market i don't do

anything for the house to fix care of everything everything yes i think a lot of clothes from my shoulder now 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 through . her. oh am i supposed to put my or the those who know and those little and don't know is forever is about the one. i was waiting for him does the put to hard for me to put his arms to feel secure how. what i'm going to. give when they when they

smell this grows as some mean for not removing his clothes from the house i'm not going to remove 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 those she ordered them frozen. unicorn because she learned about this one is very special i told her to say this is my hair because when you're going to take this medication your head is going to fall down you're going to lose your hair so what i can do this is my hair i'm going to give it to you 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 done of reporting from lebanon r.t. . russia this week a claim to

a world 1st saying it had approved a covert vaccine for use named sputnik v the authorities confirmed work was now under way for its mass production however huge concerns have been expressed around the world over the speed of the development amid fears russia has cut huge corners in the race against the corona virus no mass testing has yet been carried out and no details published about the vaccines effectiveness. 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 tested and 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. that would be. our foreign

colleagues who probably want to kind of competitive advantage over the russians acceding or offering judgments that are to our minds completely groundless in fact many countries have taken excel already decisions in their vaccine studies but the russian vaccine has already seen a distinct clinical trials and evidence. the vaccine was developed at moscow's institute of medical workers teachers and those considered to be in other high risk groups will be the 1st to receive it and release it to the general public is set for the new year the developers say around 2000 people will get the new vaccine shortly as trials continue and more than 1000000000 doses of the russian vaccine have already been requested from different countries across the globe orders mostly came from asia and in the middle east and dimitri have the head of the russian foreign wealth fund investing in the country's research outlined more details about

the new vaccine. welcome the russians people of the wall the very body are tools of virus a very tired of the restrictions of very tired old the refused the moniker to those of one of the countries. in which we believe this very very active rate. of all people now have better hope to resume a normal life as a vaccination. well i'm confident enough that the injected 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 though russia great story. my interest group has developed very successful in all of it seeing and mercy and then basically colonel 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 loza lead was 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 as you are used to level of immunity. it will produce stronger immune response going forward we believe because only ones who counsels do it for and the number i respect there is a used miller was a big scene and that means that our big scene response will last longer hopefully it will be in more than a year all scientists believe that years but the horse was a suspect. will be needed to really understand the duration of the vaccination.

and ever since people are starting to receive permission about it more and more interest but frank a lot of western media outlets a lot access to our information so i think now we have break ins through this information barrios it exists and the more people understand what we can do they go because there's of all cycle or involves of exchanging more countries become interested even today we had major bondsman by israel serbia elude us oh brazil who are interested who or the russian but she don't work was awsome. that does it for me this i'll be back in another 30 minutes with another look at your weekly stay with us this is art international. the pandemic no certainly no borders i'm just delighted to nationalities.

as americans we don't over 30 we don't look like seeing the whole world he'd stick . to. judging. commentary crisis with this system to modern times we can do better we should. everyone is contributing each or our own way but we also know that this crisis will not go on forever the challenge is creating the response has been much so many good people are helping us. it makes us feel very proud that we are in it together. we have the resources.