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Belarus's economic woes

Protests after a disputed election in Belarus come against a backdrop of economic woes.

Protests after a disputed election in Belarus come against a backdrop of economic woes. An opposition news website claims a general strike has started in protest at the election result, and Katsiaryna Shmatsina of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies tells us if she's seen any evidence of such a strike in Minsk today. And we find out how the country's economy has developed since the fall of the Soviet Union, from Chris Weafer, chief executive of the economic consultancy Macro Advisory. Also in the programme, critics of make-up brands around the world say they don't cater enough for darker skin tones, and if they do, the products are often more expensive and harder to get hold of. Ruby Hammer is a make-up artist and adviser to the British Beauty Council, and discusses why cosmetic brands don't make more darker skin tones. And we get wider context from Padma Lakshmi, an Indian model living in the United States, and Lorraine Candy, editor of the Sunday Times Style Magazine. Plus, the live music industry has been devastated by the pandemic. But the UK's first socially-distant concert takes place today, at Newcastle Racecourse in north-east England, and Ali O'Reilly from concert organiser Virgin Money explains how it works.

(Picture: A protest in Minsk, Belarus. Picture credit: EPA.)

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27 minutes

Last on

Tue 11 Aug 2020 14:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Tue 11 Aug 2020 14:32GMT