Belarus’s main opposition leader says she took a “very difficult decision” to leave the country, after disputing an election result she claimed was rigged. In a YouTube video, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she did it for her children as protests continued for a second night. One person has died.

A second video, apparently filmed when she was detained on Monday and showing her reading a script, has also emerged. She was “safe” now in Lithuania, the country’s foreign minister said. Poll results gave President Alexander Lukashenko 80% of the vote, but there have been numerous claims of fraud. Violent clashes between police and protesters have broken out over the two nights since the election was held, and there have been numerous reports of police brutality. Mr Lukashenko, 65, who has ruled the former Soviet country since 1994, has described opposition supporters as “sheep” controlled from abroad.(BBC)…[+]