Chavez Lauds Lukashenko’s ‘Extraordinary’ Win as U.S. Slams Vote

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez congratulated his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on winning a fourth term as the U.S. rejected the official election results and condemned a crackdown on opposition demonstrators.

More than 580 people, including several opposition leaders, remain in jail after protesting the results of the Dec. 19 vote, state-run Russian news wire RIA Novosti reported today, citing the Belarus Interior Ministry. A Russian reporter who was detained during the riots has gone on a hunger strike, demanding access to the Russian consulate, Moscow-based radio station Ekho Moskvi said.