World Tour - Belarus marks one year since disputed election

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Opposition marks anniversary of disputed election—We start today in Eastern Europe.

SOUND: CELLO

Monday marked one year since the disputed election in Belarus that returned dictator Alexander Lukashenko to power. Opposition leaders in exile held a rally in Lithuania.

SVETLANA TIKHANOVSKAYA: SPEAKING RUSSIAN

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya vowed to continue fighting for freedom. She said the opposition had already accomplished much with the help of international partners.

The United States and the United Kingdom hit Lukashenko’s regime with new sanctions on Monday. But he remained defiant.

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO: SPEAKING RUSSIAN

During his annual press conference, Lukashenko accused the West of attempting to start World War Three.

Lukashenko has held power in Belarus since 1994. After Tikhanovskaya claimed victory in last year’s election, the government waged a brutal crackdown on dissent. Amnesty International says thousands in Belarus have been detained, forced into exile, or continue to live in fear.

China sentences Canadian man to death—Next to Asia.

MAN: SPEAKING CHINESE

A Canadian man sentenced to death for drug smuggling in China has lost his appeal in a case of what critics call “hostage politics.”

Police arrested Robert Lloyd Schellenberg in 2014 and accused him of trying to smuggle methamphetamine out of the country. He denies the charges.

The court initially sentenced Schellenberg to 15 years in jail. But when he appealed in 2019, a judge called the punishment too lenient and gave him the death penalty instead.

Canadian officials say it’s no coincidence that the ruling came down in the middle of China’s battle with Canada over a senior Huawei executive. She ​​is currently detained in Canada on a U.S. warrant.

Burkina Faso celebrates first Olympic medal—And finally, we end today here in Africa.

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Burkina Faso celebrated its first Olympic medal when Hugues-Fabrice Zango returned home from Tokyo on Sunday.

Zango won the bronze in the men’s triple jump.

ZANGO: SPEAKING FRENCH

Zango thanked everyone who supported him and encouraged other young athletes to dream big. He plans to train for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where he hopes to win his country’s first gold medal.

That’s this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

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