Minsk
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is the only person in Belarus allowed to use the title “president,” the totalitarian dictator decreed this week. Leaders of companies, unions, and other groups who currently use the title within their organizations will have to change their letterheads and official documents. The domain-squatting move is not original; former dictator and alleged cannibal Idi Amin enforced a similar decree when he ruled Uganda in the 1970s. “It is tasteless,” said Alyaksandr Potupa, who heads the Belarusian Union of Businessmen. “It will make the international community laugh at us.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Quiz of The Week: 15 – 21 NovemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
Can the UK do more on climate change?Today's Big Question Labour has shown leadership in the face of fraying international consensus, but must show the public their green mission is ‘a net benefit, not a net cost’
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will US Catholics rebel against the Pope?Podcast Plus what are the ethics of freezing your late partner?
