After a third night of protests in Belarus, the interior ministry says police fired back with live bullets when they came under attack in the southwestern city of Brest. Demonstrators with metal rods targeted officers and the police opened fire in self-defence, the ministry said. Clashes were also reported in Minsk and other cities, after main opposition figure Svetlana Tikhanovskaya fled.

A BBC crew was attacked by police, who have been accused of brutality. The protests erupted hours after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was awarded victory in Sunday’s presidential vote, which has been condemned by the EU as “neither free nor fair”. Mr Lukashenko won 80% of Sunday’s vote, according to election officials, but there were widespread allegations of vote rigging and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Belarusians had shown “the desire for democratic change” in the election campaign.(BBC)…[+]

“Serious injuries” have been reported after a passenger train derailed near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire as storms caused disruption across Scotland. A major incident has been declared and about 30 emergency service vehicles – including air ambulance support – have been called to the scene. Smoke can be seen coming from the area. 

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described it as an “extremely serious incident” and said there were early reports of “serious injuries”. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, she said: “My immediate thoughts, and the thoughts of those across the chamber, are with all those involved.” The incident took place west of Stonehaven as torrential rain and thunderstorms caused flooding and travel disruption across many parts of central and eastern Scotland.

British Transport Police said its officers had been called to the scene of the derailment at about 09:43. NHS Grampian confirmed it was on a “major incident footing”, and ScotRail said it was assisting the emergency services.

Kevin Lindsay, the Scottish organiser for train drivers’ union Aslef, said: “We are aware that this is an extremely serious incident and our thoughts are with everyone involved.” The RMT union’s Mick Lynch said: “The facts behind this ‎incident will need to be established in due course, but at this stage we are focussed on support and assistance and our thoughts are with all those impacted by this tragedy.”(BBC)…[+]