NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
_1 Belarus protests: More factory workers in Belarus joined a growing strike on Tuesday, turning up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader to step down after winning an election they say was rigged. Workers at more statecontrolled companies and factories took part in the strike that began the day before and has encompassed several truck and tractor factories, a huge potash factory that accounts for a fifth of the world’s potash fertilizer output and is the nation’s top cash earner, state television and the country’s most prominent theater. The widening strikes come on the 10th consecutive day of unprecedented mass protests against election results that handed President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth term with 80% of the vote.
_2 President resigns: Mali’s president announced his resignation late Tuesday, just hours after armed soldiers seized him from his home in a dramatic power grab following months of protests demanding his ouster. The news of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s departure was met with jubilation by antigovernment demonstrators and alarm by former colonial ruler France, and other allies and foreign nations. Speaking on national broadcaster ORTM just before midnight, a distressed Keita, wearing a mask amid the COVID19 pandemic, said his resignation was effective immediately. He also announced that his government and the National Assembly would be dissolved.
_3 Snowing cocoa: Residents of a Swiss town got a bit of a shock when it started snowing particles of a fine cocoa powder after the ventilation system at a chocolate factory malfunctioned. The Lindt & Spruengli company confirmed local reports Tuesday that there was a minor defect in the cooling ventilation for a line for roasted “cocoa nibs” in its factory in Olten. The nibs, fragments of crushed cocoa beans, are the basis of chocolate. Combined with strong winds on Friday morning, the powder spread around the immediate vicinity of the factory, leaving a fine cocoa dusting.
_4 Gaza standoff: Gaza’s sole power plant shut down on Tuesday, leaving the territory’s 2 million residents with only around four hours of electricity a day after Israel cut off fuel supplies in response to incendiary balloons launched by Palestinian militants. Tensions have risen in recent weeks between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007. The balloons, launched across the frontier by Hamasaffiliated groups, have set farmland ablaze, prompting retaliatory strikes by Israel. Hamas is demanding, through Egyptian and Qatari mediators, that Israel take steps to further ease a crippling blockade it imposed when the militants seized control from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Instead, Israel has tightened the blockade in response to the attacks. _5 Kabul attack: An upstart Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for a mortar attack in Kabul on Tuesday that wounded at least 10 civilians as Afghans marked their country’s Independence Day. The attack came amid new uncertainties over the start of talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government. In a “communique,” the Islamic State claimed credit for firing 16 mortar shells, which targeted the presidential palace, embassies and government offices. The attack came a day after the government said it would not release the last 320 Taliban prisoners it holds until the insurgents free more captured Afghan soldiers. The decision went against that of a traditional Afghan council held earlier this month and is likely to further delay intra-Afghan peace talks sought by the U.S.